A Lack Of Abandon
by To-Kill-A-Poet
Summary: Gaara gets attacked. Naruto finds him on his doorstep. Will they find that they can understand eachother more than they realized? Will the continued attacks by a strange, green-haired man break them apart? Or will they be together forever? GaaNaruGaa SMUT
1. Lost

**Rianne: Hihi! 'Tis me, Rianne :) This story, to warn you all now, is full of SMUT, SMUT, SMUT, and MORE SMUT. But, never fear, there are some smut-less and serious chapters to balance it out a bit :3**

**So, do enjoy!**

**Arianna: Hey y'all! Like my partner in crime stated, this is very smutty but fun all the same with action and fluff and drama/angst and BLAH! -jumps out to scare you- ...wait, you're not scared? Damn, must be my unintimidating face. D:**

**Anyway, read and review please!**

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Gaara, clad in his battle-gear, snuck in past the Guards by scaling the wall nearer Naruto's house, having arrived a day earlier than he was supposed to. Crimson hair swayed slightly in the breeze; Gaara knocked on the Kitsune's door for a while. Eventually the Kazekage passed out on Naruto's doorstep, not having been found until much later. _

Crimson hair was dark red, ominously like blood in contrast to the crisp, white sheets and the white theme of the ward Gaara No Sabaku was in currently.

Eyes closed, a peaceful expression settled on his face through unconsciousness. He was laid out, arms by his sides, with one hand connected to an IV drop. His chest was exposed, the sheets turned back neatly to show his side. The bandages were new, meaning there were no new blood stains yet on the white material. His chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm for the time being, thanks to efforts made by almost the whole staff in the Konoha hospital. After all, he was the Kazekage, and it would be very bad for the Suna-Konoha relations if the Kazekage died in Konoha.

What was very strange was that no one knew how Gaara had been injured. The wound looked as though human nails had scratched away at him long enough to cause it, but the gash was about five inches long and two inches deep. Also, it was much too clean, too narrow for it to have been human nails- it just wasn't possible.

But what else was?

It wasn't any type of metal weapon, or weapon at all, for that matter, since the wound was inflicted by something never seen before. Konoha had many types of weapons; and unless this was a new Jutsu, or a new weapon, they could find no reason for it.

Well, wouldn't, until Gaara woke up. However, the redhead had gone into a comatose state for two days now, and there were rumors that he might not wake up for a long time.

_"What... where am I?__  
__I can't see anything...__  
__I'm all alone again.__  
__I don't want to be alone.__  
__Naruto... -kun...?__  
__Where are you?_

_"Temari? Kankurou?__  
__...Anyone?__  
__..Naruto, I'm cold.__  
__I'm.. Naruto, I'm scared.__  
__I want to watch you eat ramen and wonder how you manage to eat it so quickly, drop a comment on how atrocious your manners are, and be happy.__  
__I want to listen to you ramble on about anything. Anything at all.__  
__I want to glance at you when you aren't looking, like before. I know you caught me staring a few times.__  
__I want to harm Sakura, because she doesn't deserve your affection. She hurts you. She takes advantage of you. Yet.. you're strong, for being able to have her as a precious person.__  
__I want to see, to hear, to be able to move around.__  
__I can't even feel my sand near me.__  
__Where are you guys?__  
__Where are you?__  
__Why did you leave me?__  
__Naruto-kun, where are you?__  
__I don't want to be alone..."_

Sand began slowly creeping up onto his bed, and Gaara's fists clenched.

Starting to throw a fit, nearly waking up, Gaara inadvertently caused his sand to start to swarm over everything and destroy things, one by one. The sand hit the 'help' button near his bed in passing, and that in turn sounded a low alarm in the Nurse's office in the lower levels of the hospital.

xXxXx

There was an uproar going on within the walls of the Kazekage Tower in Sunakagure. And no, it was not because Kankurou was doing a bad job as substitute Kazekage; no, it was because of a scroll Temari had received one morning by bird. The scroll contained information that made her spit her coffee in a brown flurry from her lips in horror. Her youngest brother, her 'Kage, was lying in a comatose-like state in Konoha's hospital. A scream of "NANI?!" sprouted forth, and passersby had wondered what such a shriek had come from.

Immediately she stormed into the circular Kazekage office and slammed the scroll down on the desk before Kankurou. "Pack your bags; we're going to Konoha," the fan-wielding girl demanded.

"Huh? Why?"

"Read."

The brunette obeyed, his paint-rimmed eyes falling to the scroll beneath his older sister's fingers. After a moment he turned into a sputtering fool and was bounding out of his chair. In no time Baki was at the Kazekage's desk taking over for said ruler as the two siblings raced for their home to get their things. Their brother needed them, and unlike last time, they were not going to be too late.

xXxXx

Naruto paced his apartment anxiously, trying his hardest not to completely shred his fingernails apart with his teeth. He had vaguely heard knocking in the night a couple days prior, but he had thought nothing of it. In the morning, however, he had found a rather battered, bloodied, and bruised Gaara on his front stoop, panda-like eyes closed tightly. He had had no idea who did this to his best friend, nor did he know why the 'Kage was in Konoha to begin with. What he did know, however, was that the redhead needed immediate medical attention. So he had brought Gaara to the hospital and watched at the took care of his pale, desert-born friend, all the while his heart rattling painfully in his chest.

He couldn't stay, however; he knew that they suspected him to be the one who hurt the ex-Jinchuuriki. The strange, claw-like markings on the redhead told them enough to think that Naruto, being the container of the demon fox Kyuubi, could have lost control and attacked late in the night. The blonde obviously had not done so, at least not to his memory. He felt vaguely responsible for his friend's injuries, thinking that he had somehow failed him by not protecting him when he should have.

It couldn't be helped now, however.

He hadn't eaten the past couple days, being too sick over Gaara. And although it have not been verbally established, Naruto could feel his presence unwanted around Gaara by the nurses at the hospital. Tsunade-baachan had tried to convince them that Naruto would never do such a thing, and that he should be allowed to visit his friend, but the nurses had whispered their protest and Tsunade had no choice but to comply.

So, as of late, Naruto had been sneaking in through Gaara's window when the coast was clear; this usually was in late afternoon or at night. At this very moment, the sun was just about to set, so he supposed now was as good a time as any to try and visit the redhead.

Yanking his nibbled fingers from his mouth, Naruto walked to his front door, locked it behind him, stuffed his keys in the pouch tied to his thigh and set out. He jumped roof to roof, heading steadily to the hospital. He had already memorized the window of the ward in which Gaara resided, and just as he reached it a barrage of sand came streaming out the glass, shattering it like a porcelain doll.

He fell back a step and fought to stay balanced on the side of the building, suddenly thankful to Kakashi for teaching him to store chakra in his feet and walk up trees and things of the like.

Cautiously, the blonde peeked one eye in through the broken window, an automatic gulp going down his esophagus. Tsunade came bursting in through the door along with the head nurse, shouting orders. Sand flew about them, and distantly Naruto wondered how much sand Gaara could control after having his demon sucked out. Apparently, he could control plenty.

Naruto noticed Gaara's form then, and winced when he saw how the cold sweat seemed to gleam on his friend's skin, how his fists clenched much too tightly at the sheets of the cot, and how his face was twisted into a distant, sad expression. He didn't care that he was suspected of hurting the boy before him; he had to get inside that ward _right now_.

The moment his feet landed on the tile, Tsunade's head shot up. Her amber orbs connected with cerulean blue, and she nodded once while stepping back from Gaara's bedside.

The blonde gingerly laid his hand on the forearm of his red-haired friend, trying to let him know he was there. "Gaara," Naruto murmured the same way he had so many months ago when his friend had come back from the dead.

Gaara tensed as unknown warmth met his cool skin, at how he somehow knew it was his precious person. Naruto. A soft moan escaped the lips of the unconcious redhead; the sand slowed its destructive path and settled instead for hovering over the Kazekage protectively.

_Naruto?_ He thought, unconciously letting one corner of his mouth twitch up for a milisecond to form a sad smile. _You... care. You care enough about me to come and be by my side..._

At the way Naruto murmured his name, the Kage fancied that he felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't know that it really did do so, the heart monitor beside him duly recording it with soft beeps. The instrument that they hooked him up to in order to keep an eye on his brainwaves showed that he was partially awake mentally, if not physically.

Gaara's sand slowly wrapped itself around the arm that Naruto had moved in order to touch him. The sand softly pulled the kitsune closer, and Gaara's hands loosened their hold on the sheets, no longer in such mental agony as he had been, knowing he was alone and thinking he might be dead again, as the feelings of being comatose resembled the experience of death much too similarily for Gaara's preferences.

The redhead's eyes flickered, but remained closed. His mental activity lowered, but the readings were much higher than that of most comatose patients.

"Well would you look at that," Tsunade muttered in surprise. Naruto's eyes followed hers and noted the way Gaara's heart rate and brain patterns had increased almost out of comatose, yet not quite so.

Softly the blonde smiled, peering down at the sand wielder. He didn't like the vulnerable sate his friend was in; it hurt him to see the bandages, the IV drop, and just about everything else that interfered with his looks. He also cursed that he couldn't help heal Gaara faster like Kyuubi healed him all the time. _How did this happen? _Naruto asked himself repeatedly. _Why is it always Gaara? Why couldn't it have been me? _

Tears stung the back of his blue orbs, but Naruto refused to cry in front of Tsunade, Shizune, and the head nurse. There was another reason, too, and perhaps it was because he didn't want Gaara to hear him. Last time he cried in front of Gaara the boy wasn't even there to see; but this time Naruto feared that if he cried, Gaara would be hurt by it. It was an odd thought to have, the blonde knew; but it was still one he held in the back of his mind like a spider lingering on the corner of it's web for prey.

Besides, he had caught the twinge of a sad smile that grazed his precious person's features before the sand had drawn him closer.

"Try talking to him," the Hokage orders. "Often when we have shinobi that have suffered a traumatic fight and went into a coma, someone close to them can bring them out of it."

Shizune nods. "Hai, Naruto-kun. Try talking to the Kazekage-sama."

The kitsune nods and stares down at Gaara's sleeping face. _I'm not sure what to say to you, Gaara, but I'll try my best. _Under his fingertips he can feel the dull pulse in Gaara's arm, and with each beat he feels compelled to speak. "Gaara, I… it's me, Naruto. I want you to wake up now, okay? We have to get you healed and back on your feet…" he says slowly.

He swallows hard and leans down further, as if to penetrate Gaara's comatose state with his gaze. The air felt warmer as he got closer, and will all his might he wished for Gaara to open his aquamarine eyes. _Get better just for me, understand? Open your eyes because I say so, damnit. Don't do this to me, not again; not after… _

His thoughts drift off and he tries to speak again. "We're all waiting for you, 'ttebayo. Tsunade-baachan… Shizune-san… all my comrades… and I even heard that they sent for your siblings. We're waiting for you, so please, Gaara, come back."

Gaara heard something; the voice of his friend. 'Naruto?' He thought, and then heard the confirmation that the person at his side was, indeed, Naruto.

_Aishiteru,_ he thought, before his eyes snapped open. He shot up as if electrocuted, nearly banging his chest on Naruto's head, and so swerved to miss him. Then, the pain of his still-healing side blasted him, turning his breathing into ragged, pained gasps and forcing him to bring a hand to his side and bite his lower lip, drawing blood, unable to stop the cry of pain that rang out in the otherwise silent ward. The heart monitor beside him was documenting a heart rate that went off the charts, but gradually lessened as he grew used to the feeling of being truly awake again instead of only half-there. How nostalgic. The sand shot to him, manifesting his sand armor (Although he left his side as it was). The redhead, exhausted from the pain and the sudden awakening, let go of his side and let his hand hang there limply, allowing a mask of calmness to chase the surprise and pain, along with a glimpse of joy, off his face.

"Naruto?" He said, careful to erase all emotion from his voice. His teal eyes turned to the shinobi that had awakened him; gazed at his hair, his eyes- and stared. His blue eyes, which seemed overly sad- like he was about to cry. "Naruto," the redhead repeated, and extended both hands so that he could hug the other boy, but he stopped and recoiled slightly, wanting to protect himself from further harm. A whispering tendril of the sand that wasn't working as armor hovered around Gaara's shoulders, imitating a person's arms.

"You-- you don't hate me, right? Please tell me that you don't! Tell me what he said isn't true!" The redhead said, unable to help a hint of desperation from creeping into his voice.  
"Please tell me it's not true."

The moment Naruto had seen the arms outstretched towards him, he was more than ready to accept them and hold that person close to him. Although when Gaara recoiled he blinked and realized it would not have been the best idea to embrace; the wound bandaged at Gaara's side would have only bled more. Which brought Naruto's mind back to reflect on what he just saw: the redhead had awoken violently, much differently than what he had expected. It shocked the blonde to say the least, but he regained his composure soon enough.

Naruto lost it again, however, as soon as Gaara began speaking more than his name. Blonde brows came together in a confused frown as he sat himself down on the edge of Gaara's bed. He stared intently at the mostly calm face, connecting cobalt blue with light teal. "Hate you…? Why on earth would I – Who said that to you, anyway? I could never hate you, Gaara, no matter what you do. I forgave you long ago for hurting Sakura and Sasuke during our fight, and since then I haven't had a single reason to dislike you. Why would you think that?"

The kitsune's heart was struck by such a comment. He had spoken gently and sincerely, his puzzled expression not once leaving his face as his eyes searched the depths of Gaara's eyes. _Who would tell Gaara something like that, and why? What would they gain from having Gaara think that I hated him? I bet it was the same bastard that hurt him and left him unconscious… _Burning rage flamed up in Naruto's stomach for a moment, a slight glaze of red coating his eyes. It quickly faded, however; as furious as Naruto was at the person who did this to his friend, he wasn't about to scare the redhead with his anger. He also didn't want Gaara to think he was angry with him. This would have probably been the immediate response from the redhead had Naruto let his fury show longer than that millisecond.

Following his series of 'who' 'what' and 'why', Naruto waited patiently as Gaara mulled over his words and came up with a reply. To be honest, the blonde wanted a full report on what happened a few nights ago so that he could kick the ass of whatever teme had hurt the Kazekage. Tsunade seemed to want the same thing, for after Naruto had spoken she brought up a chair to Gaara's bedside and said: "I would like to know who said that, too. Lies are unforgivable."

"Like you haven't lied in the past," Shizune muttered sarcastically under her breath. As much as she respected Tsunade, that was an awfully hypocritical thing to say.

Naruto ignore all this, however; the single thing he wanted was for Gaara to say something. He pleaded with his eyes for the redhead to explain himself. Softly, he urged, "It's not true, Gaara. But tell me: who said it was?"

Gaara closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Naruto, holding on fiercely. "I don't know. He had disguised himself as you. I don't know how I didn't tell, it was so stupid-! I saw him on my way to Konoha.. I was talking to him, and he pushed me over, telling me that you hate me. At first he acted like he was you, but I caught on, and he told me that you sent him. He said," Gaara's grip loosened, and he seemed broken for a moment as he recounted what his attacker had told him. "'You're a disgusting monster. Even if he's a Jinchuuriki, he didn't kill people for the hell of it. Now that you've no longer got Shukaku, there's nothing between you anymore. He hates you and paid me to come tell you.' After that, he knocked me out while I was- while I wasn't paying attention. Whatever happened to my side happened while I was unconcious. I woke up, I don't know how long after that, and ran to your house. All I wanted was to find you, so you could tell me it was a lie. You didn't answer me when I was knocking on your door. I-I don't remember falling, but I guess I had to have in order to have passed out again." It was obvious that when Gaara had said 'While I wasn't paying attention', he was stopping himself from saying, 'Crying'. It was subtle the way putting a life-sized picture of a horse in the bathroom to tell your parents you wanted a pony is subtle.

"That's despicable!" Tsunade spat at the end of Gaara's explanation. Shizune had tears in her eyes, being the sensitive girl she was. The Hokage sighed suddenly. "Although that explains quite a bit. You probably passed out from blood loss and shock; that sort of combination can result in a coma. It's not uncommon."

Naruto, on the other hand, was grinding his teeth to prevent his canines from growing. His eyes were already flashing between blue and red, and he was thankful that Gaara wouldn't see. The blonde inclined his head slightly, resting his chin his friend's shoulder. "No… no, that's not true at all. I'm not like that, Gaara, I swear." His voice came out sounding much lower than he had meant to, but it helped it not waver or crack with the multiple emotions that were flowing though his veins. "I'll find whoever did that to you and I'll kill him!" he vowed.

The kitsune brought a hand up to gingerly touch Gaara's back, wary of the light stream of sand that remained hovering above their heads. He wanted to show Gaara his support, as well as show him how untrue the whole thing is.

Even through the thin layer of fabric from the hospital gown and the layer of sand armor that had collect upon awakening, Naruto could feel that Gaara's body heat wasn't up to snuff. A slight shiver of panic rode down the blonde's spine, and he brought up his other hand (careful not to touch Gaara's wounds) to heat the slightly smaller teen. Oh, how much he despised this situation. Who would dare do such a thing to Gaara to leave him wounded, cold, and half dead? Whoever he was, he was going to pay… with his life.

Gaara sighed, the sand finally falling from above them and resting on the ground. "Thank you," He murmured. "Thank you for being my _shin'yuu_," he said. _Shin'yuu _meant close friend. Gaara knew it in his heart that Naruto was a good friend; why else would he feel his heart flutter at the contact (And hear it through the annoying monitor), as well as feel a warmth seep through him at Naruto's touch and vengeful words. "But if it means that you would have me leave, or leave me, before the short time I have within which to be near my only _shin'yuu _is over, I'd rather you didn't, Naruto...-kun." Gaara was very rare to use honorifics unless politically necessary, and technically was already close enough to Naruto to no longer need them... but Gaara thought that it might make it clear to Naruto how much he meant to the redhead.

Besides, although he tried to be distant, he decided that, in the first verbal confirmation of the bond between them, it was significant somehow. It wasn't like he'd have to say it again anyway.  
Even if he liked how the '-kun' felt in his mouth as he was saying it.

Gaara did something else then because of the strange emotion in his stomach; he was elated to find the lies were really lies, and even though the not yet familiar feeling of the first emotion had passed, another remained. Letting his forehead rest in the crook of Naruto's neck, the redhead's breath, even and steady now, puffed warmly onto Naruto's collarbone (Or would have, if his jacket wasn't in the way.) Turning his head to the side, letting his cheek rest on the blonde's shoulder, his breath now reached a bit of skin just above the jacket's collar. For the first time in his life, Gaara felt... at ease. As if he belonged. His earlier realization of '_aishiteru_', aimed towards the blonde, was forgotten. The lies of that teme were forgotten.

He even imagined that nothing mattered in the room except for Naruto, lost in the comfort of their embrace.

xXxXx

"Kankurou, you lazy ass, pick up your pace!" Temari bellowed over the run of air as she ran into the forest on the outskirts of the desert.

The brunette panted and tried to keep in time with his older sister's pace, but it was no use. "Not all of us… can run as fast… as you, Temari."

"Then you're all losers and need to train more!" she snapped. Her dark teal eyes were full of determination; she was prepared to get to Konoha in half the time that it normally takes when going at a comfortable pace (which is three days and 2 nights). If she could, she would go even faster than half. Nothing scared the wind sorceress more than her siblings in danger. They were the only family she had left.

Behind her, she could practically hear Kankurou roll his eyes as he lets out a disgruntled groan. "No use complaining, Kankurou. We're almost there."

xXxXx

In the meantime, Naruto was taking in Gaara's words, and trying not to shudder at the heart through his jacket or the breath on his neck. And that short, three-lettered honorific seemed to keep his mind at bay; it was something he hadn't expected Gaara to use, let alone ever say with his name. It made him happy, somehow.

Tsunade and Shizune and the nurse had decided to leave about then, having the information they needed about what happened to their honored patient, not to mention to leave the two friends alone. It's what was best.

"Alright, Gaara," the blonde says with a reassuring smile. "I won't go after him until you're healed and ready to leave. Besides, I have yet to figure out who he is, dattebayo!" The room was beginning to get too warm while he held Gaara, since it's contact he's never shared with the redhead before. He wasn't sure if it was the room or only his ears that were getting hotter, but he hardly cared. Right now the Kazekage needed him, and he wasn't about to let go unless it's what Gaara wanted. "I'll be sure to be here for whenever you need me, too… especially now that they know it wasn't me that hurt you." Those last words had come out rather quietly, and for a minute he wasn't sure if the sand wielder had heard him. He probably wouldn't have, either, if they had been a few feet apart and not in this slightly awkward (although only so because Naruto was trying to be careful not to touch Gaara's wounds) hug.

It was strange, this feeling… it was like time was standing still just for the two boys. Vaguely Naruto wondered when it would end, and if he would he be bothered by the conclusion when it did.

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**Rianne: Kawaii, ne? It's sho cute! Major flufferiness! :3**

**Arianna: Haha, she has a point. But it won't be that way for long... kukuku! -evil grin-**


	2. Found

**Rianne: Hey! You should know the disclaimer by now- If Naruto was ours, the show would have lots of Saucegay bashing, NaruGaa smut every few minutes, and lots of radical other stuff!! :) Oh, the song in this chapter is Forgotten Children by Tokio Hotel :)**

**Arianna: I gotta get some potato chips. I'm hungry. All this RP-ing is making me famished. ;3 **

**I kid, I kid. Anyways, if you've notied, we kind of had quite a lot done already so we're posting rather quickly, and some chapters will be longer or shorter than others depending on what we ended with. In my Word Doc for this story it's... like... 116 pages and only 5 and a half (well, under half, because we recently started chapter 6) chapters long. :0**

**Rianne: So, yeah, that's all for today :) Enjoy!**

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Temari hadn't stopped when she made it into Konoha, even though Kankurou was complaining about being exhausted

Temari hadn't stopped when she made it into Konoha, even though Kankurou was complaining about being exhausted. Let him be, she thought. Let him be tired. It'd be better than hearing he's dead again and that we didn't even get to say goodbye. Again.

She and Kankurou (Despite his complaints) burst into the hospital at the same time.

Glaring at the secretary, she growled out a request to see her brother. The secretary squeaked out a number that she memorized as they raced to the hallway Gaara's ward was in. They stopped as they say Tsunade outside the door, spying on the occupants with a smile. She beckoned them closer, putting a finger to her lips.

Inside, Naruto had fallen asleep in the bed, next to Gaara. No longer was the redhead hooked up to any machines; he was perfectly fine, from his appearance.

The shocking thing was that the two were embracing, in such a position that it was clear the redhead had woken up at some point, in order to have fallen asleep like that. Naruto, however, was in a position that told all that he and Gaara were closer. He had one leg twined around one of the Kage's, and judging from the calm, content look on the latter's sleeping face, the contact was enjoyed immensely.

Kankurou, at seeing the sight, felt his brain die out. Since when..? Miraculously, his brain must just have been acting, because a small smile adorned his lips and he nodded. Looking over at Temari, he saw a content look on her face as well. She returned his gaze, and silently put her arm around his, relishing the sight of their brother and someone else, so unlikely to be associated with him, so comfortable with eachother.

"He's alright," Temari whispered.

"Yeah," the painted boy replied.

Perhaps there was a chance for their brother yet.

Gaara was the first of the two to wake, his black-rimmed eyes fluttering open to the soft sunlight coming in through the hospital window. A smile twitched and played behind his lips when he found blond hair spilling over his collar bone and one leg laced over his own. He even allowed that smile to briefly pass his lips before fading as the blonde resting on him yawned into consciousness. "Naruto, we fell asleep." he stated matter-of-factly.

At first he wasn't sure if the blonde had heard him, because the boy barely moved. _He stayed like he promised… _the redhead thought vaguely. A wave of relief and comfort spread down to his body, tingling the whole way. It was an odd sensation that Gaara didn't quite understand, but he liked it nonetheless.

"Naruto…" Gaara repeats, to check if the blonde was awake like he had thought. Distantly, Gaara thought he sensed the presence of his siblings outside the door to his ward, but he couldn't be sure. He was still weak from being injured, despite the time he's had already to heal.

Gently, the redhead nudges Naruto to get a better look at his face. An insignificant flush rose to his cheeks when he saw the blonde staring up at him, a foxy grin plastered on his face. He was awake; he simply had been pretending to sleep after that yawn. Gaara almost wanted to say 'baka' or 'don't fool me like that again', but he didn't. Something inside him held the words back. Instead, he nudged the blonde again, this time to signal that he wanted the weight off his chest.

Temari smiled, stopping Kankurou. "Let them have a minute." She spoke softly, and Tsunade smiled at them. Tsunade filled them in on what had happened to the Kazekage. "... I'm glad for him. Knowing you two will keep an eye on them, I think I should go take care of the other patients." The blonde woman left also having had whispered, leaving Kankurou and Temari to quietly observe their brother, smoldering with anger. They were at an angle at which they couldn't see the blush on their brother's face when he spoke and nudged the blond. They saw that the blond was awake and flashing their brother a foxy grin and getting away with it, making the two feel puzzled and forget the anger they had felt about what had happened to their brother. When had their brother gotten so close to the kitsune, and where along the line hadn't they noticed?

After at least ten minutes of observing their brother, Kankurou was impatient. Opening the door slowly, he smiled. "Gaara - you're alright." Temari filed in after him, closing the door. "I'm so relieved that you're alright, Gaara - you scared me so badly." She smiled softly, and extended her gaze to Naruto. "I'm glad you were here for him, Uzumaki. Tsunade told us that you were the one who woke him up. Thank you - we are in your debt once again."

Kankurou nodded. "Yeah. Try not to do it again, or I'll have a heart attack," the painted boy joked.

Naruto immediately sat up once he saw the other two Sand Siblings come waltzing in. Discreetly, he lifted his leg from Gaara's and smiled as they spoke to their brother before turning on him. He grinned and scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Ah, it's nothing, really; you're not in my debt or anything…"

"On the contrary," Temari informs the blonde, "We intend to pay off our debt right away. Once Gaara's out of the hospital, I find it only suitable that Kankurou and I treat you to ramen."

"Really?!" Kankurou and Naruto say at the same time. Naruto said it rather excitedly where as the brunette had whined the word, sounding resentful in paying for Naruto's meal. Somehow, he expected it to cost quite a lot.

"_Really_," Temari emphasizes, mostly towards the boy standing next to her. She shot him a glare that read, 'I don't care what it costs, were paying for it. It's the least we can do for the kid that help our little brother'.

Kankurou sighs but nods in agreement, taking a seat at Gaara's bedside. "How are you feeling?" he asks the redhead.

Naruto takes this time to climb out of the hospital cot and stretch his limbs, having slept in an odd (but comfortable) position. He yawns again, his canine teeth gleaming a small amount in the sunlight. The blonde's gaze falls back to Gaara and his siblings, and he tries to recall how he had fallen asleep on hiss_hin'yuu. It occurred to him that he had stayed mostly by Gaara's side since he had woken up from his comatose-like state, even eating meals with him. He didn't pause to wonder why, for he already knew: he sensed that Gaara needed him, not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. They've gone for a long while now without one another, having last seen each other that day they shook hands goodbye. So in truth, he had fallen asleep there because his own cot would have been less convenient and colder, and not quite what Gaara needed. And Naruto comprehended that much. _

Gaara attempted a small smile for his siblings. He recalled the care his shin'yuu had shown, eating, sleeping, and talking with him until now. He felt that he and Naruto had grown closer; no, he knew they'd gotten closer. "Tsunade said I might be fit to go outside today, provided that I'm careful," he told the siblings. "Let's all go together." His voice wasn't nearly as cold as it used to be, when he has Shukaku, he realized. Now there was a type of warmth in it.

Gaara slowly swung his legs off the side of the bed. "I'm alright, Kankurou." He said in response to his brother's question. Letting his gaze drift to Naruto, once again, he found he wanted to be held by the blond; but at the moment Gaara was confident, and instead gave an odd twitch as he recalled a joke he had invented so long ago, a few days after he'd been resurrected. A small, unsure smile reached his eyes, but not his lips, as he started talking.

"One day a blonde went to a salon to get her hair cut. She was wearing headphones, and the hair cutter told her she'd have to take them off. She went to a second salon, and got the same reply. She went to a third salon, and was told the same thing; Finally, she took them off to get her hair cut.  
When they were finished cutting her hair, they realized she was dead. When the authorities got there, they found her headphones were still playing. When they listened to it, they heard someone saying 'Breathe in, breathe out.'" Gaara had no idea why he'd shared his attempt at a joke, but he knew it was an attempt to please everyone there. He wanted to make Naruto laugh, he corrected, stunned at his realization. Oddly, when he had finished the joke, he felt a curious tickle at the back of his throat. He opened his mouth hesitantly.

In a clear, soft sound, just a few octaves higher than his normal voice, Gaara discovered that that odd feeling was a laugh.

Kankurou and Temari blinked a few times in surprise, not sure what had just happened. After the moment sunk in, Kankurou found himself doubled over laughing; he never heard that one before! He has to remember that…

Temari, on the other hand, merely grinned. The last laugh she'd heard coming from her youngest brother had been years ago, and it had been maniacal and cruel. But this was different; his laughter was small and light, a sweet tone she though she'd never hear come from him. The last time he had laughed in _that_ way have been when he was a toddler and unaware of all the hatred in the village.

Naruto chuckled upon hearing the punch line of Gaara's joke. Even though he himself was blonde, he had never minded those jokes since they were about air headed girls. He admits to being taken slightly aback by some a thing coming from the usually blank-slate Gaara, but it was a pleasant change that got the kitsune laughing not only at the joke, but in a happy way along with his now giggling friend (well, **nearly** giggling; it was higher pitched than his usual voice, which makes it not a hearty laugh or chuckle).

Sasuke came to mind suddenly, and Naruto's laughter eased. He used to think of the two boys – Sasuke and Gaara, his closest friends – to be similar in the way that they acted. Quiet, calm, never smiling much or laughing. But he was wrong; Sasuke is a traitor and Gaara is much… _nicer_nowadays. He had seen it growing ever since the redhead had been resurrected; it simply took until his actions today for Naruto to realize this. The blonde shone a gentle smile at the other 15-year-old, and was startled to find the smallest trace of pink touching Gaara's cheeks. At a sight like that, it was hard not to smile even broader, or resist the urge to say something. "Oi, we should do what Gaara said and get out of here together; I'm tired of being cooped up inside, 'ttebayo! – Maybe you'll be fulfilling your debt sooner than you thought, Temari-san." He adds in a wink, patting his stomach momentarily to show his hunger.

"That sounds like a great idea to me," the older girl replies. When it came to her brother's happiness (which she knew would sprout even further by going out), all sense of her cockiness and usual tough demeanor melted away.

"Alright, then let's go," Kankurou adds. He turns around quickly. "Do you need help walking, Gaara?"

The redhead shook his head, but Naruto would have none of that. "I'll be your crutch if you need me," he informs the Kazekage. Naruto takes his place right beside him, off to the left. He didn't touch or make any contact, but like when Gaara had slipped while trying to stand after coming back to life, Naruto made sure to be there to catch him.

Gaara was fine walking by himself, so he had distanced himself a few steps from the blond, lagging behind. However, when he caught sight of a green-haired man who was nameless in his mind, who wore a cruel smile before slipping into shadows, and had discreetly waved a blood-stained kunai at Gaara...

He freaked. He slipped and landed on his chest, winded, sand buzzing around him. Hatred and fear battled in his eyes, but was overtaken by anger. A snarl erupted from deep in his throat, and his sand picked him up. He launched into a sprint, not paying attention to his side, which was bleeding profusely now, his battlewear (The only clothes he had at the moment) growing a deeper crimson over his wounds. When he reached the alleyway a couple feet in front of his siblings, he turned the corner, only to do a strange hop-skip to stop and dodge the bloodied kunai that had been thrown at him. Enraged, the redhead ran into the alley, finding nothing but a dead end. Exhausted, he sank to his knees, and started to fall forward, catching himself with his hands as it started to rain.

"Kuso," he muttered. _Damn you to hell._

Everything happened so fast that the Sand Siblings and Naruto could hardly keep up. One moment Gaara is quietly falling back a few steps as they exited the hospital and began walking down Konoha's streets, and the next they see a figure moving past them, Gaara furiously following suit. "Gaara!" Kankurou bellowed, fearing for his wounds to tear open again.

"Gaara!" Temari echoed not milliseconds after, her pace quickening to following the unknown ninja and the Kazekage.

"What the hell?!" was Naruto's only reaction as he, too, tried to pursue the two. All three of Gaara's comrades burst into action, trying to sort out who it was that had tried attacking. Could it be the same lying bastard that had lied to and injured Gaara? It must be, there was no doubt; but why? Why was he so intent on breaking up their good day? Why was he so intent on hurting Naruto's precious person?

The blonde was enraged. Despite being behind Temari and Kankurou and not getting the same head start, he was soon turning red-eyed and charging with all his might. _Whoever that guy is, he deserves a few Rasengan to the gut, _he thinks cruelly.

The three (Naruto being the first) turn into an alleyway, but no one was there at the dead end except Gaara, who was hunched over, panting faintly. His hands were propping him up, but his clothes where slowly growing more and more damp with his own blood.

"Gaara…" Naruto says as calmly as he's able. His teeth were clenched to hold back the harshness in his voice, although some hint of it slipped out.

"Gaara! You shouldn't have done that! Look at your wounds…" Temari pleads as she rushed to her brother's side, concern brimming her tone. She didn't touch him, however, afraid that he might push her away.

"Was that the guy that attacked you a few days ago?" Kankurou asks, though it's hardly needed. It was clear who that smirking devil was.

Naruto steps a little closer, unsure what to do. He wanted to help, only… how?

Gaara tried to answer, but what came out of his mouth instead was a whimper. He hated himself for that low, vulnerable sound. His arms gave out and he was once more winded, the sand around him touching the ground as the rain from above rendered it useless; the armor he was wearing came off as it would be useless anyway in a few minutes. Allowing himself to lay there silently, Gaara shivered in the air that was becoming cold, feeling the dirt beneath him becoming mud. The earth by his side was becoming red with blood, and he felt light-headed, pleasantly so since the pain in his side seemed less important. "Naruto," He whispered, his eyes feeling heavy. He wouldn't go to sleep until Naruto was there, he promised himself. His eyes raked over the area he could see. No matter how sleepy he got, he wouldn't close his eyes.

He'd stayed awake before, he could do it now.

At the sight of Gaara falling and the strange sound that resembled a whisper, Naruto forgot his uncertainty. He rushed over to where Gaara laid, the rain above his head beginning to weigh down his golden locks. Kankurou and Temari stepped out of the way, allowing Naruto to pass between them to their brother. Deep down, they knew that the redhead wanted his friend more than them. Temari, being closest, could even hear Gaara whisper the knuckle-headed ninja's name…

His legs were wobbly and it took him a moment to drop down to his knees beside Gaara, but once Naruto was there he bent down low to come into view of very tired-looking, black-rimmed eyes. "Gaara, let's get you back to the hospital. I'll carry you, okay?" he muttered, just loudly enough to be heard. All sense of anger at the mysterious attacker was forgotten as he saw Gaara's eyes close. With a careful, rain-soaked arm, Naruto flipped the redhead over gently and took him up by the underarms and back of the knees, lifting him bridal style.

Kankurou seemed about to protest, a twisted look on his face, but Temari held out a hand to stop him. She knew. Slowly she walked ahead of the struggling teen, gently tugging Kankurou to follow.

And back to the hospital they returned.

Gaara felt himself being picked up by a warm being; having seen Naruto, he dreamed that the blond was carrying him. Shifting closer to the warmth, burrowing his head into the other's chest, the redhead sighed softly. "Koi," He mumbled into the blonde's chest, his voice muffled and inaudible.  
When his body felt a difference, the fact that he was being laid down, he struggled, starting to thrash about frantically. In his dream, the blonde had gotten hit badly, and he was tied up; the dream version of the man that had hurt him was carrying Gaara away, and in his heart he knew that if he was taken away, something bad would happen...

His thrashing slowed and stopped, a whimper once more passing his lips as, in his dream, the man threw him against a wall and reached for his chin, bringing it up slowly. Then, the man turned into his blonde Naruto, and they kissed hungrily...

Gaara's eyes opened slowly, as if he didn't quite want to wake up. He found that, for the moment, he seemed alone, though he could sense the blonde's chakra somewhere nearby. "Naruto..?" He mumbled, looking around the room to find the blond.

Subsequent to laying the thrashing Gaara down on the bed and steadying his limbs, Naruto had helped Tsunade and the head nurse re-patch his wounds, get him some warm, dry clothes, and calm him back into sleep.

Naruto insisted on staying in the room, assuring the Hokage and the other medic-nin that he wasn't injured, merely wanted to stay behind and watch over Gaara. They had agreed, leaving the blonde be.

The kitsune's mind began to wander, and he smiled faintly at remembering how Gaara and clung to him after he had picked him up off the muddy ground. It was an odd thing, this feeling he had; like a dozen eager butterflies which tickled his insides and made him want to do something ridiculous, like never let go of Gaara and keep him close forever. What sort of feeling was that, though? Was it because Gaara knew his past pain and understood him for everything that he was? Was it because the redhead had changed so much since their first battle all those years ago when Shukaku had shown his face? Naruto wasn't sure, how whatever that feeling was it compelled him to stay by the Kazekage's side even during his restless sleep.

After some time, however, Naruto felt his own eyelids droop. It had been a long, exciting day already, and it didn't ameliorate the situation that he was starving (Naruto always was less energetic when he was hungry). He stood from the bedside chair next to Gaara and crossed the room to the door, opening it a crack. As tired as he was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go home to sleep. What if Gaara woke up and needed him?

The blonde shut the door and glanced back at said patient, and he sighed. There was a curtain drawn between each set of cots, Gaara being the farthest from the door and once again closest to the window. Naruto didn't want to worry the redhead any more than necessary, so he chose the cot nearest the door, two curtains away from Gaara. If he was needed, he could be found. He'll always be there…

Naruto lay down and closed his eyes, his still damp clothes clinging to his skin. Sleep overtook him then, and vaguely a dream of tan lips brushing against pale ones came to mind…

Gaara slowly sat up, cast his gaze around, and saw Naruto. Getting out of bed to make his slow, careful way over to the blonde's cot, Gaara smiled sleepily. Climbing into the bed, careful not to re-open his wounds, he gazed at Naruto. Checking for other chakra signatures and finding no-one else was nearby, he decided to experiment upon the action in his dream. He knew faintly of kisses, as he had seen people kiss before, but he didn't understand much else besides that guys weren't supposed to do it. Slowly lowering his head to the blonde's, he closed his eyes slowly as he let his lips descend against that of the blonde's. Finding the air around him warm, not realizing a faint tint of pink had appeared on his cheeks, Gaara laid down beside the blonde, not understanding the strange warmth that had suddenly appeared inside him. Wrapping his arms around one of Naruto's, Gaara shifted closer, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder as he waited for his _shin'yuu_ to awaken.

Something compelled him to sing, something else he'd taught himself to do while unable to sleep. Looking away from the blond, Gaara parted his lips to use his voice as softly as he could.

"Just a normal day  
Streets turn into graves  
Traces have been removed  
The search was disapproved  
So cold the night  
The weak ones lose the fight  
Too many of them out there  
No-one seems to care  
Lost and so alone  
Born but never known  
Left all on their own  
Forgotten children  
We'll never hear a name  
They carry all the blame  
Too young to break the chains  
Forgotten children  
They see, they feel, believe  
Just like we do  
They're laughing, and crying  
Wanna live here  
Like me and you  
Eyes without light  
Too tired of good-byes  
Never felt embraced  
And frightened of every face  
A life in disguise  
Hope forever died  
Lost and so alone  
Born but never known  
Left all on their own  
Forgotten children  
We'll never hear a name  
They carry all the blame  
Too young to break the chains  
Forgotten children  
They see, they feel, believe  
Just like we do  
They're laughing and crying  
Wanna live here  
Like me and you  
It shouldn't really be that way  
It shouldn't really be that way  
We see, we feel, believe  
Just like you  
We're laughing and crying  
Wanna live here  
We see, we feel, believe  
Just like you  
We're laughing and crying  
Wanna live here  
Just like you."

His singing voice was smooth and melodic, unlike the somewhat rough, monotonous sounds that often escaped him.

Gaara pressed his head a bit harder into the blonde's shoulder, not having noticed, even when he had kissed him, whether the blond was awake yet. All he knew was that when he'd started to close his eyes, the blond hadn't been awake. Reflecting, he realized that he should have made sure Naruto was asleep before he'd gotten too comfortable.

Cobalt blue eyes fluttered open when cool breath grazed his face and he realized that Gaara was hovering above him, eyes closed. Heat rose to his face when he figured out that maybe that dream wasn't as much of a dream as he had thought. But why would Gaara…? Unless…

The blonde blinks once or twice as he feels the redhead shift his weight and lay his head on his shoulder. The contact, despite how close they'd gotten, was strange… Naruto never thought Gaara would do something like this. And what he did next was even less expected: he began to sing.

Naruto didn't move and merely listened, the poetic, regal sound of Gaara's voice making that nervous butterfly feeling in him intensify. His black and orange jacket had been split open to reveal the necklace and mesh underneath since it was more comfortable to sleep without something zipped all the way up to the top of your neck. But because of this change, some of Gaara's crimson locks spilled forth on his collar bone, tickling him. He swallowed hard, not sure what other feelings were beginning to bubble up inside of him.

Gaara's singing came to an end, and Naruto wondered if he should say anything. In the end, being the sort of person he is, the blonde did say something; and it was the first thing that came to mind, naturally. "You have a nice singing voice."

Gaara tensed when Naruto spoke, but nodded softly. "...Thanks." The redhead blushed again, not sure if the blonde had woken up when the redhead had kissed him.

Shifting his gaze so that he looked at Naruto's face, his breath puffed onto the blonde's neck. "Did I wake you?" The hidden meaning in his voice could only be recognized if, in fact, Naruto had realized what Gaara did. The subtext, hard to read, sounded apologetic. 'I won't do it again if you don't want me to,' the hidden, unspoken words said. 'Please don't hate me.'

Gaara withdrew his arms, instead moving Naruto's so that, while he was wrapping his own arms around Naruto's waist, Naruto's arm was around his shoulders. Pressed so closely to Naruto now that one of his legs were now twined about one of the blonde's, Gaara closed his eyes. Ever since he had been attacked, Gaara seemed on edge when he did anything that could possibly upset Naruto, and always apologized immediately, no matter what. He was starting to get past what had happened, however, so the apologies came fewer, now only when it was necessary.

He felt that now, it was necessary.

Even if he didn't feel sorry at all.

"Er..." Naruto began, sensing Gaara's hidden meaning in his words. A tingling shudder ran down his spine at the gust of breath that sprouted from Gaara's lips and grazed his neck, and he tried to suppress the extra heat which was making it's way across his cheeks. His ears were already burning, he knew; as to why, exactly, the blonde wasn't sure. "It's okay, I needed to wake up anyway." He pauses, bringing a reassuring hand up to rub Gaara's shoulder. "How are you feeling?" he asks, mostly meaning Gaara's wounds. He was almost nervous that the Kazekage would take that question the wrong way, although he shows no sign of this.

Concern was laced between every word of that simple question, because it's the only emotion, it seems, that Naruto has been feeling for Gaara lately that wasn't embarrassing. The kitsune got a strange impression that Gaara was also having mixed emotions as of late, some of which the redhead probably couldn't wrap his mind around. The blonde could identify with this, and recognized some of the other subtle emotions that Gaara was giving off.

Prior to Gaara's answer on how his wounds were faring, Naruto adds, "He's still wrong, by the way. Nothing you do could ever make me hold unkind feelings towards you."

Gaara's eyes widened slightly as he met Naruto's eyes.

"'M alright," He mumbled, staring at Naruto. Lowering his eyes, a confused expression on his face as he felt a fluttery, jittery feeling, and another emotion akin to bloodlust.

Gaara knew Naruto understood his words, and had, in fact, noticed the kiss. Gaara attempted a small smile. "Good... because I want to do it again." He said the last ever so softly before pressing his lips to Naruto's neck, tracing a line of soft kisses to the blonde's jaw. His eyes were closed, and he opened them only to put himself in a position where he could kiss Naruto again. He let his lips touch Naruto's once more, and then licked Naruto's bottom lip; he felt a strange, hardening sensation somewhere beneath his belly, and he blushed into the kiss as he was sure Naruto could tell- they were so very close, after all.

For a brief moment Naruto's mind couldn't process the words 'want to do it again'. And before those words could even have time to settle in his mind, he was taking in a sharp breath as a line of gentle warmth trailed along his jaw. Whatever heat he had tried to keep from his face came flowing all at once, and he was sure Gaara could feel the blush under his lips.

The redhead was moving again, attepting to adjust where he lay so that he could reach Naruto's face. The blonde closed his eyes and shuddered slightly at the hot, wet tongue that touched his lower lip. _What's Gaara doing? _he asks himself. _And... why am I letting him? I thought I only liked Sakura this way. But perhaps..._

Naruto was more than confused, but he hardly cared. Still being weary of Gaara's wounds, he brought a hand up to hold Gaara to him, feeling a warm cheek (mostly likely flushing) brush against his own. Without hesitation he parted his lips and dared to kiss Gaara back, part of him thankful that the redhead had started all of this. If he had started it, he probably would have been pushed away. You could never tell these things with Gaara.

Cocking his head slightly, Naruto turned to lick the back of his shin'yuu_'_s jaw below his ear. A tiny shiver was felt under the blonde's hands on Gaara's back, and he relished at the thought of making such a reaction come to his normally unreachable friend. Though that wasn't quite true; Gaara has shown a lot more emotion and reaction in the past few days, and the blonde liked that very much.

The butterflies from before turned into ravage dragonflies, tormenting the kitsune from within. Something was growing and stiffening, although he hardly cared what it was. All that mattered was the closeness of he and the ex-Jinchuuriki, their kisses, and the words forming in the back of his throat, however frozen they may stay._ I think... aishiteru, Gaara. _

Gaara moaned softly as Naruto kissed him back; the stabs of... whatever that emotion was... in his belly intensified, and as he kissed Naruto, he rolled so that he was completely on top of the blonde. His eyes half-lidded with lust, Gaara pulled away for air, licking the shell of Naruto's ear before taking it into his mouth, nibbling softly. Getting his breath back, he kissed his way back to Naruto's mouth, and accidentally pushed his hips against Naruto, and moaned at the rub of friction, his flush darkening. Crushing Naruto's lips with his own, Gaara's shows of affection became fevered and frantic.

Licking Naruto's lip again, accompanied by a light nibble, Gaara pushed his tongue into the other's mouth, beginning to explore Naruto's mouth before flicking the blond's tongue with his own, trying to build the passion the two were sharing. He slipped his hands under the blonde's lower back, holding him ever closer.

His earlier realization came back to him;  
_Aishiteru! _his mind screamed._ I love you-!_

He was brought out of his thoughts when he tried to get the blond to react even more to his not-so-gentle affection.

He's never felt this way before.

Naruto had never known such a want - such a **need** - for another person's touch. Cobalt eyes turned darker with a steadily blazing passion, filled with so much _need..._Why did Gaara do this to him? The nibbles, the wet kisses... it was feeding and helping fuel his inner demon, and no, not the Kyuubi, but his new revelation of what he thinks might be love. And something else was there, something that currently made him tense and moan into Gaara's mouth when their hips rubbed past one another briefly.

Being careful not to rough up the redhead too much, Naruto shifted his weight so that he was beside and hovering slightly above Gaara. He noticed that his breathing was speeding up, though he hardly thought it mattered. Leaning down with gentle precision, Naruto pealed apart Gaara's topmost clothing and instinctively nuzzled the pale skin of his throat with his nose. Trailing down from the Kazekage's neck, Naruto opened his mouth and licked timidly at one of the pale pink nipples he found on Gaara's toned chest.

Gaara gasped at the warmth at the hollow of his throat, followed by a low, seductive moan when Naruto licked him. He felt so.. so _strange_... Gaara pulled Naruto's head back up, and crushed the kitsune's lips against his once more. This time he meant to as he bucked against Naruto, bringing them to rub against eachother, even though it was through clothing. Hurriedly stripping the blond of his jacket and his mesh shirt, the redhead allowed his long fingers to explore the tanned expanse of skin. Trailing a line of kisses down to one of Naruto's pebbled nipples, as the blond himself had done, Gaara licked it and took it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. Tweaking the other softly, he kissed his way to the blonde's navel, dipping his tongue inside in a seductive manner as he fumbled with the laces to the blonde's pants, his eyes even darker with lust as he finally tore off the black garment. Letting himself up a bit, his hand trailed down just past the kitsune's navel, onto that bit of skin before the few hairs visible above Naruto's boxers. His breathing was quickened as he felt up the blonde, kissing him yet again.

Naruto liked the sound that erupted from Gaara's lips, and he wasn't sure why. He was a little shocked by the forceful kiss and the gesture of being turned over onto his back on the hospital cot yet again. Gaara's pale fingers worked fast and nimble as they removed his two layers of clothing and scaled up his chest, a strange sensation building up in his boxers at the contact. And it kept building as Gaara made him squirm and moan softly with the way he touched his nipples and worked his way down to his pants…

_For a guy who doesn't know what he's doing, _the kitsune thought dully, _He's doing a good job._

Being as subtle as he could be, Naruto helped Gaara slip his pants off, the orange fabric being kicked to the tiled floor carelessly. Less subtly, the blonde reaches up and yanks Gaara's own pants down to his knees, causing the most beautiful flustered expression to cross the redhead's face. Propping himself up on his elbows and ignoring the oddly stiff lump he saw between his own legs, Naruto murmurs, "Something wrong, Gaara?"

Gaara shook his head, kicking his pants off the rest of the way, and removing his shirt (Which had been hanging off one shoulder). He reached down and pulled Naruto's boxers down, blushing at the sight, before leaning down and kissing Naruto, trailing the soft brushes of lips against skin down to the part of Naruto that he'd just exposed to the air; licking him, and then taking the blond into his mouth, Gaara sucked softly. He took more of the blond into his mouth until his nose rested comfortably in the hair framing the blonde's manhood, resting his hands lightly on the other's thighs. His panda-like eyes were closed, his blush growing, and he felt himself grow even harder with need. Licking the vein in the other's significant length, even as he sucked on it, Gaara was determined to pleasure the blonde. He'd watched quite a few pornographies when his brother and sister had left (Kankurou kept quite a few of them in his room, and not all of them were girl/girl or girl/boy). Letting a hand reach lower, he cupped and then fondled the blonde.

Only one word came to Naruto's mind: _ecstasy_.

Naruto sucked in air sharply between his teeth when cold air reached his recently exposed lower self, but nothing compared to the odd noise (which resembled both a squeak and a moan) he made when pale lips connected with his sensitive area. He felt his back arch off the bed the moment those lips parted to let a tongue come out or to take him completely in.

The kitsune wanted to say something, but all that ended coming out was: "Nnnhhg…"

The way Gaara was messing with him with his hands and mouth, Naruto couldn't tell what was going on anymore except for the stars that flew around the corner of his vision and the welcomed sweat that was beginning to form. The room was starting to feel so warm, so very warm…

He knew he was flushing profusely and getting stiffer, probably threatening to explode of Gaara kept this up much longer. Almost regretfully, Naruto reached down to cup Gaara's chin in his hands, pulling the redhead's face up. He smiled crookedly, his eyes half-lidded. "Your turn…" was all he said before toppling (although not too roughly, still remembering the wound in Gaara's side) his new lover and pinning him down. He tossed Gaara's own underwear down to the floor and pried his legs apart, flashing the nervous redhead a foxy grin before diving in to the tender spot between those milky-colored legs.

Naruto noticed when he gripped the base of Gaara's length that there was a lot less pubic hair than his own, which made sense in an odd way (after all, Gaara had no eyebrows). With a combination of his instincts and hormones kicking into high gear, Naruto lapped and sucked away at the redhead, enjoying the noises which sprouted from the Kazekage's lips. With a gentle nibble of his fox-like teeth, Naruto picked at the bulge below Gaara's manhood before coming back up to the tip and sticking it again in his mouth.

He wasn't sure if it was safe, considering the condition the boy in front of his was, but Naruto wanted to do more than simply a blow job. He wanted to give himself completely to Gaara for reasons he couldn't comprehend. He didn't want to play games; he wanted all or nothing.

And somehow that seemed right; they were two very alike people and deserved one another.

Gaara almost shouted when Naruto took the redhead into his mouth. "Ngh!" Unused to such _pleasure, _The redhead moaned again when Naruto started to lap and suck at him; when the blond pulled away to nibble at him, Gaara grabbed his friend's-- no, more than that-- blond locks, pulling harshly on them as his friend continued to suck. However, soon he let go, and pushed the blonde back, moving forward to bite the kitsune gently, but hard enough to draw blood, Gaara lapped the crimson up delicately.

Confusion reigned on his face for a moment as he tried to remember what the porn actors had done-- oh, yeah. That. shoving his hand in Naruto's face, he extended three of his digits, feeling that he didn't even have to utter the command that was so visibly transmitted through body language. He said it anyway, a harsh, lusty "Suck," breathed in Naruto's ear. Before the blond could reply, he smiled softly. "Please." He didn't say anything else, afraid words would break the spell of the moment, and that he might wake up to find it a dream.

Gaara's sand, on the ground, unnoticed, was starting to rustle softly, as if pleased at the actions being performed, and that the redhead had found someone.

The blonde tried to remember why he needed to suck Gaara's fingers. Then it hit him…

"Oh," he breathes out, comprehending the situation. He takes those thin, pale fingers into his mouth and coats them as thoroughly as he can, a trail of saliva linking his lips to Gaara's fingertips for a moment as he pulls them away. He leans back into the bed once again, closing his eyes shut as he braced himself…

Gaara lowered his hand and placed a single finger into the blonde's entrance, waiting for a bit as the ring of muscles clamped down, allowing the blond to get used to it before thrusting his finger in and out, curling it slightly as he did so. He added another finger before too long, scissoring them to stretch his lover, and a third to make sure that it wouldn't be as painful for the blond. After a few moments, he removed his fingers, and positioned himself above the blond, placing himself at the kitsune's entrance. Leaning forward to kiss the other, he placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders, and pushed his way in slowly until he was buried in his new lover to the hilt. "Ngghh..." The sweet heat of his blond around him, the pressure from all sides--

Careful to let the other get used to it, the redhead started thrusting softly, gently. He didn't dare go very fast, for he was afraid that thrusting too hard like that would either hurt the kitsune, or reopen his own wounds. The ecstatic feeling that was building in him grew, an undeniable link being forged; and a few feet away, unbeknowst to either, the sand formed a heart, and inside it were the words...  
_Aishiteru, mai Naruto. _I love you, my Naruto.

Naruto's never done anything like this in the past. Never really thought he would get this far, seeing as how – in everyone else's eyes – he was either a monster, a dobe, a friend, or a knuckle-headed ninja. He never would have expected that someone would show him this amount of love on this pleasurable of a level. The sensation of being desired by someone was rippling throughout his whole body, sending shuddering waves up his spine as he arched his back off the bed. The blonde wasn't entirely positive what words or sounds were coming out of his mouth; he was too concentrated on the collection of nerves that were being sweetly reached with every thrust into him by the redhead. Again stars blinked across his vision, but he wasn't even sure if they were behind his lids or if he was seeing the ceiling. Night had fallen just barely over Konoha, making the hospital room cloaked in dull blues and purples, which seemed to fit the mood.

"G-Gaa-ra…" he panted, his face and stomach on alive with an intense fire like Kyuubi's chakra, only much more soothing. The Kazekage covered his mouth gently and stopped him from talking, as if to say, 'don't ruin it, now'.

As if he could ruin a moment like _this_.

It wasn't before long that an eruption coursed through the blonde's entrance, earning a gasping moan as he, too, seemed to explode. Shimmering white began to stream down the two lover's legs, though they hardly cared.

They were bonding together as one heart, one person, and one soul… and nothing was going to get in the way.

Gaara, happy, feeling cherished, and unbelievably tired, didn't pull out of his kitsune just yet; instead, he simply laid on him comfortably, urging a bit of sand to pull the sheets up around them. "Aishiteru," he breathed. "Naruto-kun." His black-rimmed eyes began to flutter shut, his arms around the other. Allowing himself to stay awake, his eyes to fight to stay open for the other's response.

Feeling slightly childish, he smirked mentally, but was shocked when he felt another's emotions. Delight, ecstasy, the feeling of being desired- Like his own, yes, but the emotions had different reasons behind them. Sitting up somewhat, he stared into Naruto's eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. He imagined he could even hear his blond say something, though his lips didn't move.

_Naruto_? He thought, feeling silly. _Can you hear me?_

What he didn't know was that the Kyuubi had worked a bit of 'magic'. Since the redhead had once held Shukaku, he was sensitive to the work of Bijuu; so, to frustrate them and bring them closer, the Kyuubi had, in the throes of passion, reached out and forged an emotional/mental link between the two.  
How appropriate it was, even if they didn't know it yet.

Naruto was taken aback by Gaara's confession. He knew you could have sex with someone and not love them; it happened all the time. People had sex for just the enjoyment of it, or out of the heat of the moment (usually after some alcohol was slugged down), or out of sheer lust, but Gaara… Gaara truly loved him. He had just said it plainly for Naruto to hear.

He blinked his blues eyes once, watching as the redhead turned his head to peer up at him. Inwardly, the blonde wanted to confirm his earlier revelation and admit that he, too, was in love with Gaara; but the words never came out his lips. Never before had anyone said that they loved him… and he knew that no one has ever said the same to the teen laying on top of him.

After some time, the blonde mustered up the courage to speak, tears stinging in his eyes for reasons unknown. "I… Gaara, aishiteru." He says softly, his arms coming to press the redhead to his chest. He held him close and dear, wondering why he was crying when he was so much in bliss. Aside from the sex, of 'course; other things, like two simple words, could make him blissful. "Daidun aishiteru!" _I love you greatly. _He placed a tender kiss on Gaara's forehead, right upon the character of what he felt. A moment later, while listening to Gaara's breathing while he held said redhead, Naruto murmured, "Now let's sleep…"

As for Kyuubi; well, what he had done would be realized the following morning. For now, the two lovers lay intertwined, falling into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**Rianne: Woot! THE SMUT BEGINS! xD (I have faaarrrr too dirty a mind to be trusted. And I stole that line from Ari xD)**

**Arianna: THEIF! Haha, just kidding. But year, I said that on the phone to her the other day. :P**

**Anywho, hope you perverts liked teh smut and will keep reading! Lots has yet to happen! I would know, I'm one of the RP-ers for this. ( ;D obviously...)**


	3. Violated

**Arianna: in response to a review, yes, the roles will be switched. Naruto is much too competitive and such to be uke all the time. you'll see in this chapter that through all the smut, either boy will play uke and it doesn't matter to them who, really. besides, it wouldn't be any fun to play the same poisition forever, now, would it? kukuku.**

**Rianne:** **However, Gaara _does_ like being dominant. xD I mean, look at his eyes! xDDDDDD**

**Uhh, I took forever this morning to look at this to make sure it was suitable xD (Here's our MSN chat about it xD)**

**_Arianna: dammit, Rianne, people want more and we have more to give! smut and all! so we should give it to them!!_**

**_Rianne: I know! I know! -hides from rocks being thrown by angry peoples-_**

**_Arianna: haha. JOO BETTUR HYDE! D:_**

**_Rianne: Ahh! -gets hit in the forehead with one rock and gets swirly eyes, blood trickling down from practically between the eyes-_**

**_Arianna: oh no! -runs over and kisses blood away whips around and screams, charging- BACK OFF YOU HEATHENS! WE'RE UPDATING, OKAY?!_**

**_Rianne: -laughs her head off-_**

**_Arianna: -rolls eyes- what? is my display amusing to you?_**

**_Rianne: I just thought you were straight, is all. xD_**

**_Arianna: But i like blood. if i can get it away with my lips, i will. -sounds like a creepy vampire- oopsie..._**

**_Rianne: Me too xD But still. xD_**

**Okay, enough of that, on with the story! HUZZAH!**

**Arianna: i can't believe i'm lettign you keep that in there. but seriously, guys, that really happened in our IM convo. shows you the shenanigans Rianne gets me into. -smacks her- anyway, READREADREAD. m'kay?**

* * *

Gaara woke to find that he was dressed once more. However, the blonde wasn't under him anymore. Sitting up and casting his gaze around, he saw a note from his _kare, _his boyfriend (Though the word felt funny to him) saying that Temari and Kankurou had taken him for ramen. The note said they'd be back soon. However, a dull ache arose, in his heart. "Naruto-kun..." He whispered, but shook his head and forced a smile. Even though he was feeling alone, impatient, and slightly sad because he wasn't with his _kare, _Gaara could deal with it. _'Naruto, I'm waiting for you, so hurry up. I know you love ramen, but take some to go or something.'_ he thought grumpily. Slowly standing and moving to the window to look outside, Gaara rested his hands on the windowsill. He could not see Ichiraku's from where he stood, but he fancied that he saw a brief glimpse of Naruto sitting there with his siblings, as if he was having a premonition.

xXxXx

"Er, wow, Naruto… you sure know how to eat." Kankurou sweat dropped, watching at the blonde consumed the last of his fourth bowl.

"I'm a growing, training shinobi; I need all the strength I can get, dattebayo! Plus, it tastes so good, how can I stop at only one bowl?" the blonde retorts with a grin.

"Gaara will probably wonder where we are when he wakes up…" Temari hints, wanting to leave with at least half her earnings still intact. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to promise to pay for Naruto's ramen…

"I left him a note," the kitsune chirps. "So don't worry about it!"

Out of the blue Naruto makes a puttering sound in the soupy remains of his bowl, choking slightly.

"Oi, are you okay?" Kankurou asks, a frown on his face.

"He was eating so fast that he was bound to choke sometime," Temari says with a roll of her eyes.

Naruto blinks hard for a moment, hearing Gaara's voice in his head. _"Naruto, I'm waiting for you, so hurry up. I know you love ramen, but take some to go or something."_ And, oddly, his emotions shifted into impatience paired with a grumpy pout coming to his face. Part of him began panicking, wondering why the hell that had just happened. That was seriously freaky.

The blonde slams his bowl down, the sound of pottery hitting wood startling Kankurou and Temari more than the blonde's choking had. "Pay the man and let's go," he says curtly, Gaara's emotions rubbing off on him. Plus, he hardly wanted to keep the redhead waiting…

Hold on. How the hell did that happen, anyway?

A smooth voice chortles in Naruto's mind, and he knows exactly who it is.

_Kyuubi, what's the hell is going on?! I thought I just heard Gaara's thoughts!_

**'You did, kit. I decided to help you two out a little.'**

_Come again?!_

The demon fix chortles again, his throaty laugh echoing off the inner walls of Naruto's mind. '**It's nothing much, really; it helps that Gaara's compatible with Bijuu. You see, Naru-to_,' _**he says fondly, obviously enjoying himself,** 'I connected you two. Consider it a… mating gift. You can feel and hear one another now. Lovely, ain't it?'**

_What?! Not really! That's pretty scary if you ask me, Kyuubi! So, like, will I be hearing Gaara's… uh… every thought? And does he hear mine?_

**'That's what I said.'**

_A-and everything we feel can be felt by the other?_

**'Pleasure, pain, and everything in between.' **

"Gahhh!" Naruto bellows suddenly, causing Temari and Kankurou to send him curious looks. He turned around and laughed apologetically, rubbing the back of his head. "Er… I stubbed my toe," he lies. Turning back around frantically, he wonders what Gaara has to say about all this, and if Kyuubi's little magic trick is truly accurate. He swallowed nervously, thinking, _Did you get all that, Gaara? _

**'You should probably call him "mate", you know. Or at least "kare".'**

_Shut up you stupid ball of fur! You've done enough damage!_

Kyuubi gets defensive in his tone.** 'Now that's not very nice, kit. I bet your mate doesn't mind it so much.'**

In fact, what Gaara minded and didn't mind was made very clear in the next few moments…

Gaara was silent for a few moments.

_...I prefer Kare, if you must know... _He thought, frowning. _...Demo, must I have my mind cracked open for _anyone_ to see? Granted, I'm relieved that it's _Naruto_ if anyone, but still... It's... strange, to say the least. Oh, Naruto, did you react in a way that made it seem something was up in front of Temari and Kankurou?_

Gaara's crimson hair swayed in a soft breeze as he opened the window. Memories of the night before flickered through his mind and he shuddered deliciously, blushing as he realized that the feelings were no doubt transmitted to the blonde.

Kyuubi was amused by their confusion. It was kind of cute the way they didn't understand.** 'No, only you two share a mind and heart now. No one else can hear your thoughts other than Naruto, and Naruto, no one else can hear yours but your mat– I mean kare.' **

_No, Gaara, I don't think they suspect anything. I was sure to have you dressed and the bed cleaned up as soon as I woke up this morning so that they couldn't guess. You sleep like a rock, do you know that? _He adds with a small inner smile, to explain how he did so much without the redhead waking.

**'Now if you're done questioning me,'**Kyuubi mutters inside Naruto,** 'I'm going to sleep. G'night, kit,' **he purrs and he retreats to the back of Naruto's head._ But it's not night! Oh, whatever._

Naruto sighed and looped his hands behind his head, trying to act normal for Temari and Kankurou. Although this was hard to do, seeing as how he paused in his pace to shudder and blush thanks to what Gaara had just been thinking of. He grumbles under his breath something about a nine-tailed fox and it's sneaky magic tricks before picking up his pace again. He was thankful that the older two of the Sand Siblings were oblivious to his actions and were talking amongst themselves. It was odd, because now Naruto would have to be careful what he thought or felt around others since Gaara would hear and feel the same thing. On the other hand, Kyuubi was helping keep them together; for when Gaara returned to Suna, the other boy's thoughts and feelings would be a comfort late in the night.

_That's right, _Naruto thinks to himself, but also thinks for Gaara to hear. _When you go back to Suna to do all your Kazekage business and stuff, it'll be like you're still with me. And hey, maybe I can pick up a few pointers on how to run a village, seeing as how I'm still going to be Hokage! _Another thought enters his mind at the mention of Konoha's leader. _Oi, it'll be real easy keeping the peace then, too; I'll get all the news of Suna put right into my brain, and if one of us is in trouble the other will know right away. Maybe that fox wasn't doing such a freaky thing after all… _he grins, sharing his epiphany-like thoughts with his kare.

Gaara nodded slightly. _Good. Un, you're right. It might just be a good thing after all. I-_ Gaara heard something and turned around.

He was instantly frozen in place, unmistakable fear, anguish, and hatred washing over him in waves that threatened to down him.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, BASTARD! I TO-" His almost-shout was cut off as the man who had attacked him pressed cruelly grinning lips to that of Gaara's, letting his hands roam the Kage's body. Disgust was added to the mix of emotions, and Gaara tried to think-shout for help, but only managing a faint '_ngnh' _for his kare to hear.

Then...

Nothing.

xXxXx

The second Naruto felt the fear, anguish, and hatred, he sprang into action, running at top speed towards the hospital. He didn't call out Gaara's name in panic like he had wanted to, so not to make Kankurou or Temari nervous or suspicious.

Unfortunately, the Kazekage's siblings did think something was wrong due to the fact that Naruto had burst into an all-out sprint. They watched and followed suit as the blonde jumped into the roofs of nearby buildings to go even faster, trying to reach Gaara before that teme did. Disgust filled Naruto's senses, and not only because Gaara was feeling the same right about now, but because he was outright disgusted that this guy – whoever he was – kept coming back to torment his kare more. But for what purpose? What was his motive? The blonde could hardly guess.

Already blue eyes were flashing red and canine teeth dared to grow as Naruto became more and more furious and less and less aware of Gaara's emotions and thoughts. _Kyuubi, what's going on?! How come I suddenly can't sense Gaara any longer?_

**'Hmm?' **The demon yawns from within.** 'Oh. Didn't I tell you? There's no effect when the other is asleep or unconscious, because then you can't feel anyway. That why you weren't aware of the changes I made until this morning.' **

_Gee, thanks for the heads up, Kyuubi, _the blonde snarls in his head at the fox. He grinds his teeth as he reaches the hospital, a sickening feeling dipping down low in his stomach.

Gaara was no where to be found.

xXxXx

Well, at least, it seemed that the redhead was gone. The strange man had taken him to the roof; and now, about twenty minutes after Naruto had gotten into the hospital, he slapped the redhead awake. The 'Kage's eyes opened slowly, and he blanched as he realized what that monster had done to him. Curling into himself, his pants still barely on him, his boxers ripped (and obviously) pulled up haphazardly, in a rush; his blood beginning to flow yet again because of the wound in his side that kept getting opened and would likely become a scar, Gaara groaned.

Too shocked to feel much but pain, both mental and physical, Gaara's eyes remained wide open, unseeing, and he remained in an almost fetal position on the roof, not even noticing the man leave.

He'd done what he came to do.

And Gaara hadn't been able to do a thing about it.

A muffled sob tore it's way out of Gaara's throat, tears flowing otherwise silently from his eyes.

As soon as Gaara had been slapped into consciousness, Naruto felt a similar slap on his own cheek, although dully, as if it were a memory. And just as it had dawned on Gaara what had been done to him, it dawned on Naruto, and immediately the blonde wanted revenge. The bloodlust did not last, however, for he needed at that very moment to be by his lover's side up on the roof, the one place he should have checked first.

He made his way to the roof, feeling Gaara's tears pouring down his own whiskered cheeks. When he opened the door and stepped out onto the cement of the hospital's roof, the sight of Gaara in such a vulnerable, feeble position made Naruto's heart clench and ache in a contorted manner. "Gaara…" he whispered, falling to his knees beside the redhead, draping his arms around Gaara's thin shoulders. He suddenly looked so weak, which seemed damn near impossible for someone Naruto had used to see stand so regally and defiantly as a leader and a ninja. "We'll c-catch him, I sw-swear," he sobbed, rubbing his head into the crook of Gaara's neck and shoulder. "I'll p-personally rip his throat out."

The redhead was vaguely warmed by his kare's embrace, and felt the kitsune put his head in the crook between his neck and shoulder. His eyes fluttered closed, drowning in misery and hurt. He continued to cry in the blonde's embrace, even when another blonde, along with a brunette, appeared on the roof as well.

"Rip whose throat out for wha–" The blonde began, before she saw the clues as to what had happened. Her face hardened almost instantly. She saw that Gaara was weak and vulnerable at that moment, but he truly couldn't care less who saw him.

Who would be able to, realizing that they'd just gotten raped, up the ass, by the person who tried to break them and their lover apart?!

For the longest time they stayed that way, clinging together and trying to sew up their insides of their shared emotions. Temari and Kankurou, however, reminded them gently that Gaara's wounds had been reopened and that he probably needed a good, hot bath.

Naruto pulls away in the slightest, looking up at them puffy-eyed. He nods, wiping at his tears. "Come on, Gaara," he murmurs, offering a hand to lift the redhead up. "I'll even help bathe you."

Kankurou looked confused by that, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head, however, thinking nothing of it; friends and family would do that sort of thing. It wasn't so unusual. As the two walk away, Temari comes up beside Kankurou, her arms wrapped around herself as if to hold something in; or stop something from coming out. She gave her brother a look, and the puppet master understood immediately what was going through her mind. After living with Temari for nearly his whole life, Kankurou knew what that look meant. It was a look filled with worry and unease, a look that begged for answers he couldn't give. It used to be given when Gaara as been a homicidal maniac, but that seemed like an eternity ago compared to the present.

Back inside, Naruto made some mental offers to the redhead. _Temari's right, you need a good hot bath after something… like _that_. And I'll help you. We can rent a private bath at the hot springs, or we can use one of the bathrooms here in the hospital, or…_ the drifts off, looking to Gaara for a response. "Please, just… let me help you."

The redhead wouldn't reply physically, for he was still trying to piece himself back together. For the blonde's sake, he replied, albeit weakly. _The private bath... sounds better..._ Unable to bring himself to do anything further, the redhead lowered his head slightly. What had he done to deserve this!?

Conflicting emotions raged as the obvious answer resounded in his head.

_I killed hundreds - no, thousands - of innocent people, that's what I did do deserve it,_ he thought despairingly. _Kami, let it all end soon...!_

The kitsune wanted to say something in reply, something to comfort Gaara's guilty conscious. He wanted to reassure him somehow, but the only thought that came to mind was: _A-alright, the private bath it is… _

They made their way out of the hospital, Gaara wrapped up in newer clothing and bandages which were mostly waterproof. When they reached the bath house, the woman up front made no hesitation to give them a private bath. "He's the Kazekage of Sunakagure, after all! Mustn't be inhospitable…" she said in a hurry, rushing them towards one of the rooms in back. "Follow me now, come along!"

The blonde rolled his eyes slightly at the woman as he lead Gaara down the wooden floorboards and corridors, passing random other private baths in use and the main male and female pools. Finally they came to an unoccupied room, and she gave them a key.

"Here you are. Enjoy your bath!" she smiles. If only she knew why they were here to begin with…

"Come in," Naruto coaxes, vaguely feeling as if he were talking to a child. He doesn't feel it completely, however, so not to offend his broken love. As Gaara slipped into the room, Naruto undressed himself and set his clothes in a bin on a shelf on the wall. The steam drifting up from the lit pool's surface felt very welcoming, like misty arms trying to caress your body without ever touching it.

The blonde eases Gaara's thin layers of clothing from his body, scowling at the recently made bruises from the abusive acts he was glad Gaara wasn't awake to experience. As soon as they were exposed, Naruto fixed that by draping a towel and tying it securely to Gaara's waist, and in turn doing the same to himself. He took the redhead by the hand and led him into the water, gingerly picking up a sponge and some soap.

"Let's wash off that dirty feeling, ne?" the kitsune says softly, dipping the sponge in the water and ringing it out above Gaara's head. He watched the black-rimmed eyes close and goose bumps form from the heated water. Naruto smiles, being cautious as he scaled Gaara's body, making airy, caring touches as he soaped up and rinsed the Kazekage's body. The actions, oddly enough, weren't like last night; instead of being lust-driven and aggressive, they were soft and innocent, like a couple of orphans in the same orphanage giving each other a bath amongst bubbles and rubber ducks. In a sense, the two _were_ orphans; Naruto having lost both his parents before he could have time to remember when, and Gaara the same for his mother, although not losing his cruel father until the Chunnin exams and Orochimaru's attack. "Feeling better?" he murmurs, coming close enough to brush the wet, stray hairs off of Gaara's 'ai' scar.

Gaara had to admit, he did feel better after he had been cleaned. He leaned into Naruto's touch when he was being bathed, and he allowed himself to slowly lean against the blonde, breathing in the other's scent gratefully. _Arigatou..._ his mind said weakly. Curling up, almost like a child on Naruto's lap, Gaara yearned to be held by the one he knew truly loved him.

_Help me get rid of the feel of him_, he asked softly. _Please._ Gaara didn't open his eyes; but if he had, if he was alright, he would be looking up at the kitsune sadly. There were still a few pieces of himself that he just couldn't put together alone. _Please._

The way he begged in Naruto's mind, it was like a mantra the blonde heard echoing off the walls of his brain.

Please. Please. Please.

That's all it seemed to say, and as the redhead curled up in his lap in the soothingly warm water and hot vapors, Naruto found that he couldn't resist the plead. His heart ached for his lover painfully, sympathizing with him in ways he didn't think possible before Kyuubi's little spell.

He leaned down and stroked Gaara's wet mop of hair with one hand while the other came around to rotate Gaara's position, laying his head face-up on the towel that covered the blonde's lap. Gently he placed his lips onto Gaara's, willing his strength into the redhead. _Heal, _seemed to be the only thing he could think of, and he meant more than just the bruises and sore entrance and cut in his side. No, Naruto almost meant the memories and the guilt and impurities and pain. He wished for all the inner wounds to heal, for those were the hardest to get rid of.

The kisses trailed all the way around Gaara's face, the blonde scaling every part, as if trying to peck away at the pain going on in his lover's head. He fell into a sort of rhythm, starting at the lips from his awkward angle above, working his way to Gaara's chin, jaw line, ears, cheeks, tip of his nose, scar, forehead, bridge of his nose, eyelids, each corner of his nose, space between his lip and nose, and just about everywhere else on his face. It was like dusting away the inner grime with his lips.

His hands that had been petting away at the crimson locks of hair slipped downwards to rub small circles onto Gaara's shoulders, arms, and chest, massaging away his inner quaking and feel of being handled by someone that didn't love him. _I'll help you forget, _the kitsune thinks kindly. He shifts his position, sliding Gaara off of him and setting him upright on the bench in the pool of water, being careful not to move too quickly. He perched himself in front of Gaara, staring into his slowly opening eyes for an everlasting second before bringing his knees up on either side of Gaara's pale thighs, half sitting, half hovering. _You _**will**_ forget, _he repeats as his he wraps his arms around the redhead's neck and slips his tongue in the others mouth.

Tears stung the back of Naruto's eyes once again, but he didn't let them fall. Instead he closes his eyes, trying to memorize Gaara's body and imprint on it without hurting him.

Simply to make him be **rid **of that man…

Gaara sighed softly as Naruto started kissing him, and moaned when he parted his lips to allow the other's tongue into his mouth. The sensations of being loved started filtering through the misery, but there was still a lot of healing to be done. With Naruto hovering -or sitting - so close to him, Gaara realized that Naruto would always be there for him.  
Another small, jagged piece of him was picked up and fit back in with the rest as he returned the kiss, silently for a few moments.

_Arigatou,_ he whispered, mind-to-mind. He wrapped his arms around the blonde as well, feeling the abstract sensation of what he was doing to Naruto echo slightly within him.

It was difficult not to get turned on by the slippery, hot feeling of water and naked skin. It was also difficult not to get addicted to such a thing. Naruto figured the only real way to make Gaara feel loved and not abused, to make him rid of the dirty, used feeling, is to make his own impression on the redhead. Last time he had played the role of potential uke, but now it was Gaara's turn. And unlike the villain, he was not going to wreck the fragile heart which sat beneath him.

"I'm going to make this up to you," the blonde mutters in between kisses. "Because I love you so much… And can't stand to see you this way…" Naruto leans into his kare, pressing their chests together as his inclined his head and sucked on the already wet skin on the left side of Gaara's neck. Gently he tipped his head downward and covered his teeth with his own lips so that when he bit down on Gaara's collar bone it wouldn't leave a mark or hurt. In the meantime, a tanned hand fiddled with Gaara's right nipple, tracing small circles with his fingertips, pinching lightly once at the end. He then flattened his palm and trailed it down the Kazekage's abdomen prior to lacing it around his waist and touching the divot below the small of Gaara's back under the top of the tied white towel.

He swirled multiple fingertips across the redhead's lower back and uppermost skin of his butt cheeks, all the while kissing his way around the expanse of Gaara's lips, jaw, neck, shoulders, and collar bone. He was being gentle, and distantly the touches and sensations he was causing Gaara to feel were stirring in the back of his own body, like a ghost of a touch. One thing was for sure, the tightened grip of Gaara's fingers in his hair, pulling somewhat, was welcomed and made him moan softly into the sucks and kisses he was giving.

Gaara had put his fingers in Naruto's hair for reasons he didn't understand. One thing he knew was that he wanted to be in control too, if just a bit. He wanted to be able to say 'No' and stop it if he changed his mind, although at this rate that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Moaning softly at the warm, soft caresses, Gaara felt himself start to relax in the warmth of the water and that of his Kare._ 'More'_, he said wordlessly, and closed his eyes. _'I want you to have me as much as it takes until I can feel clean again,'_ the redhead urged quietly. Teal eyes were revealed once again, as the redhead restrained himself from holding the blonde close. He felt comforted enough, and uneasy with the foreplay, however delicious the feelings it caused were, anxious to be purged of the lingering feeling of how the man had touched him and used him, feelings his body remembered even if his mind didn't.

Gaara took one of Naruto's hands in both of his own and started sucking on some of his digits, letting the blonde know how desperate he was to feel whole again. The redhead wanted to go through the motions of being prepared, whether he needed it or not. He wanted to go through the motions so that he could pretend that what had happened earlier hadn't happened.

_As long as you're sure, _Naruto thought to the redhead as his fingers were taken in the other's mouth. He hardly thought preparing the redhead was needed, seeing as how the warm water and already used hole were enough. Still, it couldn't hurt to help things along.

The blonde pulled Gaara up off the bench in the tub, turning him around to let the 'Kage bend over and stabilize himself on the bench with his hands. Naruto was no expert on sexual positions, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be much harder to do it this way.

Cautiously, afraid of causing Gaara's body to remember the abuse, Naruto slipped one finger after the other into his partially submerged entrance, turning them around to gently stretch the hole, every so often bumping up against some cluster of nerves or another. Holding onto Gaara's hips like a safety net, Naruto leaned down into the redhead, slipping his stiffened member slowly into him, allowing time for rejection, adjustment, or whatever else. His chest pressed up against Gaara's back, the sleek wet of the dampened skin and heat of the water and their bodies making Naruto lightheaded in a delightful way.

Naruto wasn't sure which was better: entering or being entered. By now he's experienced both (especially at the moment, although less like he felt the penetration and more of the feelings caused by it), and he honestly couldn't tell which was more pleasurable. He could understand why Gaara had played seme first time around, though; the feeling of being inside the one you loved in a manner impossible to describe… why, it was sheer bliss.

The kitsune slipped his hands down from Gaara's hips to his inner thighs as he eased in and out, pressing closer and father away to Gaara's shoulder blades, each time slipping a thought out. _I love… you… and no one… else… will ever… hurt you… again._

Gaara was quickly used to his _Kare_'s fingers, and then, too, his manhood. With hands on his hips, then thighs, the thrusts were gentle and loving. Gaara moaned softly, each thrust now hitting a clump of nerves that sent thrilling shudders along his spine. When Naruto spoke to his mind, the redhead smiled softly, a tear rolling down his face to land in the water. More began to fall as the redhead accepted that he was loved, not having done so completely the first time around. The last piece of himself that had been shattered by that man had now been picked up; Gaara gasped and bucked softly as Naruto hit that same clump of nerves a bit harder. He felt the sensations of Naruto's actions both as a phantom touch and in the normal way. "Nggh," he breathed, as he once more felt that same spot being hit again.

_Aishiteru, mai ichi soshite bakari._ I love you, my one and only.

Naruto could feel through Kyuubi's magic that Gaara was crying, but this was not the reason why he began to cry as well. No, it was because of Gaara's thoughts, telling him that he was his 'one and only'. The blonde never used to think someone could say such a thing to him, or that he could return the sentiment. "You're my… too…" he tries to say, but the pants and stifled moans kept the words from coming out. But being the soul mates they were, it didn't take their recently developed connection for Gaara to know what he meant, although it certainly helped Naruto send his feelings, pure and strong, to the other.

For what felt like a year and over, they stayed like that, intertwined in the heat and vapor on the hot springs, every so often Naruto reaching around to Gaara's front to massage and stoke his length or lean forward to give the back of his neck a kiss or lick. After a while they collapsed into the water, the seed from both of them mixing unseen in the water as they tried to get their strength back. To say these past two experiences with one another was heaven would be an understatement; never before could Naruto feel so complete, spent, and full of ecstasy. What tomorrow, next week, or even later that day would bring he wasn't sure, but at the moment as he embraced Gaara and clung to him, Naruto knew that nothing could sabotage how and what he felt for and to the redhead. And he knew the feeling would never fade or cease, because in the end, they were made for one another.

* * *

**Arianna: we were so surprised to have 3 reviews after just posting! it was a wonderful thing to see! So please keep it up, won't you? feedback is nice and besides for the fun, it keeps our RP going. ;P and looky! drama and more smut! who could ask for more? :3**

**and now a word from my partner in crime...**

**Rianne:** **Wow, I was so happy, too, when I first spotted the reviews. We have many more extra-long chapters coming up for you- And not just because you want them, also because we're both perverted sex fiends (Still virgins tho', thanks xD) and can't help but write a lot. xD**

**We probably won't update in twos next time, because the fourth chapter is coming out today as well, and let's face it, we only just started the sixth chapter. I doubt we can write two chapters a day (Well, we can, and we have) but I'm looking for a job sometime soon, and that'd probably cut into the roleplaying time. However, I can almost guarantee you'll get at least an update a week when it comes to the rougher times. Gawd, I hope it never comes xD (Well, I do, since I'll be getting a cellphone then, but Rp-wise I don't xDDD)**

**See you, guys! xD**

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**Yeah! That's it! Click it! xD Feed the hungry author-ess-es.**


	4. Outed

**Arianna: Oh my, we've done it now! this chapter is so long! lots happens in it, though, that's why. LOTS AND LOTS. heehee. roleplays are so hard to keep at one length... anyway, enjoy action, comedy, drama, gore, and smut! squee!**

**Rianne: Folks... If you treasure your sanity, you'll stop reading the a/n's. Oh, and just for laughs, I'm saying a disclaimer. FOR ONCE. Haha.**

**'I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. OR GAARA. OTHERWISE THEY'D BE FUCKING EACHOTHER'S BRAINS OUT AND THE SHOW WOULD BE NOTHING BUT HENTAI-ACTION AND I WOULDN'T BE WASTING MY TIME WRITING THIS INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THE HENTAI PORN THE ARTISTS'D BE DRAWING. xD'**

**Seriously, this is _fan_ _fiction _here, folks. Why do we even _need_ disclaimers? Seriously? xD**

* * *

Gaara watched impassively as his siblings bickered about something- probably about how soon they needed to leave for Suna. It was hard to read his face, but since Naruto had that deeper link, he didn't need to look at the 'Kage's face.

_I don't want to leave, Naruto. What if... What if _he_ follows me and attacks me while we're apart? You'd never make it in time, and no one else would know about it... And what if our link doesn't work when we're so far apart?_

_Obviously he wants something, kare, and he's not going to rest 'till he gets it._

_...That, and I'm going to miss you..._

It had been five days since they'd gone to the hot springs (they had shared three more such encounters since) and apparently it was also enough time for Gaara to heal on an emotional level. Also fully healed a physically, his time with his _kare_ was drawing to a close, which irked him to no end.

The blonde sighed at the sight of Temari and Kankurou 'discussing' when to leave, mostly out of reluctance than anything else. Like Gaara, he hardly wanted to part, especially since the enemy was still at large. In this case, all he wished to do was be there to protect Gaara... _Wait, that's it!_

"Oi, Temari-san, Kankurou... When you guys decide to high-tail it outta here, let me come with you. If I explain **most **of the situation to Tsunade-baachan, I bet she'll personally send me on a mission to escort you three out and come to Sunakagure with you. You know, so that we can help keep a watch on Gaara...?" he offers, sending said redhead a quick sideways smile of reassurance._ It should work, right? _he asks silently.

Gaara gave a soft half-smile and nod. Forgetting to say anything physically, especially since Temari and Kankurou weren't paying attention for the moment being, he replied mind-to-mind.

_I think it should. Especially if you tell her the guy that attacked me is still on the loose. Even if I was hurt, being able to hurt me in the first place _**and**_ do..._** that**_... to the Kazekage means that he has to be pretty damned strong._

_Right, _Naruto agrees inwardly. _I'll go tell her right now, in fact. Stay here for a bit, 'kay? And try to shut them up, _he adds with a smile, gesturing with a thumb to the redhead's siblings.

The blonde exits the room, lacing his hands behind his head. If anything, Tsunade will explode and whole-heartedly agree to let him tag along with the Sand trio. He only hoped it would be enough; after all, this guy got past him twice before.

Naruto doesn't bother knocking on the Hokage's office door, he simply waltzes right in. "Oi, baa-chan, I got somethin' to ask ya..."

The large-breasted woman sighs, not bothering to glance up. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Let me go with Gaara back to Suna. Consider it a bodyguard mission," he says, getting straight to the point.

Her amber eyes flash to connect with cobalt blue, a question in them. "What for?"

Naruto seats himself in the chair across from her desk, and he watches as Tsunade leans forward on her elbows, her lips leaning against her folded hands. He tales a deep breath and calmly explains the situation, trying not to get too detailed (since it might give away what Kyuubi had done). He skimmed over the main points of recent events only, since she was there to hear Gaara's first explanation.

All sorts of emotions fill the Hokage's face, and when Naruto was finished she nods. "Alright, Naruto. I understand. Obviously I'm going to let you, seeing as how the situation got worse. I'll alert Kakashi; he wanted to train you for something or another, but this is much more important."

The teen grins broadly. "Thanks, Tsunade."

"Yeah, yeah..." she shrugs, waving the gratitude aside. "Now get outta here."

Gaara smiled softly and nodded. He accidentally said, "Okay," even though his siblings could hear him and had not heard Naruto speak. Temari and Kankurou paused in their discussion with raised eyes at the redhead.

Gaara didn't pay attention to them, however, as he thought to the blonde. _Did she say yes?_  
Before the blonde could reply, Gaara gave a small grin and nodded almost imperceptibly. _Nevermind- you feel awfully happy about something, so I'm guessing she did. _Feeling weird as Naruto's emotions influenced him to smile wider than he usually did.

Temari and Kankurou blinked in confusion at their younger brother's smile. Temari dared to ask, "Why so happy, Gaara?" a smile growing on her own lips. As of late, she didn't much care what happened, so long as everything came back to this: Gaara being content. She could see it in the way he acted around the blonde that something had changed, and silently she wondered if their relationship had become more than friends. How much so she had no clue, but it was something different that she appreciated.

Down the way, Naruto whistled to himself, feeling accomplished. Now to get back to Gaara and the confused siblings... and maybe get some food. He was getting hungry. Perhaps not ramen, though. He was craving ice cream instead.

Gaara's smile slowly shrank to his normal less-than-half grin. "No reason," he said, much too quickly to be believable. Was Gaara of the Desert, the powerful Kazekage, actually hiding something?

_You've _got _to be kidding me. __Unless, of course, you want _vanilla, the redhead amended. _The delicious feeling of your warm tongue touching cool softness, smooth and pale... Sometimes sticking your fingers in it to lick the whiteness of it off them slowly... Of course, Vanilla is the best._ It was obviously an innuendo, a well-crafted one at that, mixing facts and experience that was felt through their link (Except for the last part of the 'fingers' comment, though the first was oh-so-true). It was obviously meant to get the blonde to hurry up, a warning to the other that the redhead would torment him with mental pictures otherwise.

Hmm, that could be useful.

Of course, Gaara was wearing his loose battle-gear, so he was well-prepared to follow out on the unspoken threat. Naruto's excitement could easily be seen.  
However, Gaara's wouldn't.

_Now why do you have to go and do that, you pervert? _Naruto grumbles in his head, his want for ice cream dissipating and a tenseness in his pants starting. He forces it away, though, thinking it unwise to feel something like that in a somewhat public place.

The blonde hurries back and bursts in through the door, coming up beside Gaara. "So, what's on the agenda today?" he asks, mostly to Kankurou and Temari. He slings one arm casually over the redhead's shoulders.

Gaara nearly leaned into the blonde's touch, but stopped himself by rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, although not defensively. _Since you got excited, I'm starting to think that _you're_ the real pervert around here, baka. _The term for 'idiot' was here used fondly, and Gaara smiled again. "Anyway, maybe we _should_ go get ice cream. Kankurou, Temari, what do you think?"

Gaara fought the impulse to let his eyes widen as he realized he'd slipped up and talked physically with the air of continuing a sentence. He forced himself to look normal, hopeful that his siblings wouldn't notice - except, of course, they would, and he knew it.

Kankurou frowned in confusion. "Who said anything about ice cream?" he asks, truly puzzled.

Temari didn't know what was going on, only assumed that Naruto had said something when they weren't around or noticing. Replying to her brother's question, the fan wielder says with a small smile: "I think that sounds like a great idea."

Naruto inwardly winces, realizing Gaara's older siblings were suspicious. He also winced inwardly due to the embarrassment he felt. Then again, the redhead should have guessed that Naruto was a pervert; doesn't he know that the blonde had invented the harem jutsu?

Trying to ignore the suspicion and act normal, he puts on his usual grin and says, "Well then what are we waiting for? Ice cream it is!" As false as the smile was, Naruto was still glad to be getting out and about and having ice cream. Despite the innuendo Gaara had placed into his mind, one of the blonde's favorite treats was ice cream.

"I'm getting chocolate," Kankurou says airily as the four start to exit the room, the ice cream shop their destination.

Temari rolls her eyes. "No surprise there. You usually get chocolate or strawberry."

"They're the best flavors!" the brunette says in his defense.

Gaara glanced at Naruto, giving him a sheepish, relieved, _Oops_. _I almost gave it –_

Someone accidentally bumped into Gaara, and he looked back, ruefully rubbing his shoulder. In that moment, he seemed even more human.

"Gaara?"

"--Away, b- Ah, crap."

Gaara had given it away, and that was not a fact that could be ignored. Gaara ducked his head and unconsciously moved a step or two closer to Naruto. Attempting to change the subject he'd inadvertently brought up.

"So, chocolate, huh? I prefer vanilla."

Temari didn't look so easily deterred.

" 'Away' what?" Temari inquires, her head cocking slightly. She sends Gaara a look. "You know, lately I feel like you two have some sort of secret language or something."

"Yeah, I've been getting that feeling, too, now that you mention it..." Kankurou frowns. "Either you two have gotten a lot closer and talk all the time when Temari and I aren't around, or something's up."

"N-n-nothing's up!" Naruto giggles nervously. "Gee, Kankurou, you're such a kidder, dattebayo. Isn't he one big kidder, Gaara?" the blonde nudges, sending a quick, _Help me out here, _and a, _What should we say? _He was more leaning towards the 'we have been just spending so much time together that we're practically in sync' excuse, which is quite common among best friends. Another thing that might explain it would be to stupidly burst out, 'I'm in love with Gaara!' which might do the trick, although it may also confuse/anger the older ninja. _Seriously, Gaara, say something..._ _I'm starting to sweat here..._ Naruto adds not two seconds later.

Gaara seemed to frown, pretending to get in a huff. "You want me to make friends, and then when I do you get all suspicious!? Wow, thanks, that's a _great_ idea, you guys! Way to motivate me to be more _normal_." His tone was everything if not sarcastic, and he crossed his arms and turned away from his siblings, giving a hidden wink to Naruto.

_All I could think of at such short notice. _He replied. _I don't want to hurt them too badly, but it's kind of necessary this time around. Is it working?_

Deciding to play along with Temari's unintended suggestion, he sighed.

"We made up secret hand signals and stuff, but I didn't think you'd be so curious about it," Gaara mumbled, as if sheepish. "I wanted to try it out, since lots of kids did it... and I never got the chance."

His older sister blinked a few times. "Oh... That makes sense, I suppose."

Kankurou, however, was not as concerned about that was he was at Gaara's seemingly huffy attitude. "No need to be so harsh, Gaara..." he sweat drops. He decides to use Naruto's accusation as an excuse. "I was, uh, kidding. Yeah..."

_Yup. It worked. Thanks, _the blonde grins, winking subtly at the redhead. Trying to dodge any more outbursts or issues, he says in a childish tone: "Ooh, look! The ice cream shop! Last one there has to pay!" and he sets off into a jog, sensing the three siblings' stares on his back.

Playing along, Gaara ran after Naruto, glad that he was able to run without hurting himself, thanks to some rest and the Hokage, who had personally finished off his treatments. A part of him wished she never had. Deciding to trick Naruto, he stopped for a second, drudging up a memory of the jerk who attacked him to scare the hell out of Naruto through the vivid, remembered emotions. Flying past the blonde not a second later, he threw a smirk over his shoulder, reaching the Ice Cream Shoppe a few seconds later. Scanning the flavors and seeing Vanilla, he smiled, and then paused as he saw a flavor that was exactly Naruto's skin color. Smiling, he ordered the so-called 'Caramel Surprise' and a Vanilla. Passing the blonde the vanilla when he arrived, Gaara glanced to see whether Temari and Kankurou were looking before taking an innocent lick of his Caramel surprise and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

_That wasn't very nice of you, _Naruto thinks grumpily as he takes the ice cream, referring to Gaara's trick used to be first to the shop. And it was even less 'nice' the way the redhead licked the caramel-flavored treat, which oddly reminded Naruto of his own skin color, and looking down at the vanilla in his hands, he swallowed to think that it was nearly exact to Gaara's creamy skin color... _You did this on purpose, didn't you? _the blonde says with a mock-scolding tone. Just to make the redhead squirm, he licked all the way around the base of his cone; mostly to stop it form dripping onto his fingers (it was a bit humid today in Konoha), but partially for other reasons.

Not too much later, Temari and Kankurou enter the scene, finding it odd how much the two were enjoying the treat. Shrugging all thought away, Temari orders something called 'key lime surprise' while Kankurou gets his mentioned chocolate cone. "Let's eat these at the park," the older girl suggests, thinking it'd be nice to sit down with her siblings (and Naruto) to chat.

"You two go ahead," Naruto pipes up, his eye contact not breaking away from Gaara. "We'll catch up later..."

"Um, okay..." Temari nods with a slight frown. "C'mon, Kankurou."

Gaara squirmed, indeed, when Naruto did so; but then, Gaara stuck a finger into his ice cream ever so casually, but oh, what a sexual innuendo it was. His finger came out curled to hold the bit of ice cream, but it also seemed it was for other reasons. Licking around the base of his own ice cream, he closed his eyes, and couldn't help but smirk slightly when he made a sound that resembled a moan. "Wow, this is _so_ good!" He said, justifying the moan that surprised even himself in it's hidden allure.

Gaara watched the siblings, and when they looked away, started walking away towards a dark alley so they could at least make out without being spotted. He dropped his ice cream when he stopped near the dark walls, much preferring the taste of his kare.

Naruto no doubt knew that Gaara could sense his reaction to the 'wow-this-is-_so_-good' way of eating his ice cream. A tiny shiver went down his spine and as soon as the older two of the Sand siblings were gone, Naruto hurriedly followed Gaara to the alleyway, vaguely noticing the dumped cone and the devious look in the redhead's eyes. He ditched his own cone and came over to Gaara, not hesitating to flash a foxy grin into the kiss he laid on the other's neck. _I bet your siblings would freak if they saw us, _he thinks vaguely before giving the redhead's ear a small lick.

_Maybe, but since when do I care?_ Gaara gasped slightly when the blonde licked his ear, and he returned the flavor by trailing a line of kisses from the hollow of his throat to his ear, which he took into his mouth and nibbled on lightly.

_I don't care if I get caught with my fingers in the cookie jar, the cookies are too hard to resist._ The redhead claimed the blonde's lips in a hungry kiss, forcing his tongue into the other's mouth. He broke away for air only when his lungs were telling him they'd burst, and he soon swooped in again, his hand sliding under the other's jacket and shirt. His permanently bruised eyes were closed as he tweaked one of Naruto's nipples, eliciting a soft moan that disappeared into their kiss. Dully, he heard gasp and the sound of a dropped cone, and he froze, pulling away a few centimeters from his _kare_ to look into the eyes of his siblings.

Naruto smiled at the cookie jar metaphor, but couldn't help to moan (a bit too loudly) as he felt cool fingers slipping into his clothing and promptly giving a pinch in just the right way on just the right place. His hands found themselves under Gaara's cloak and warmly resting on the small of his back, the blonde finger's itching to reach in and touch the bare skin of Gaara's cheeks (and no, not the ones on his face). He stopped himself from doing so, however, for the sound of ice cream plopping to the ground and a stifled gasp reached his sensitive ears, and he broke the wet kiss with Gaara to find his fear coming true. "Er... hi Temari, hi Kankurou..." he blushed as he pulled away from Gaara in humiliation. "I th-thought you two were heading for the park..." The kitsune sends the redhead a quick look, thinking, _Maybe you should care if they catch you in the cookie jar, kare... because I'm not sure I like the look on Temari's face. Think she'll smack me with her fan? I wouldn't be surprised if she did._

_If she did, I'd hit her back tenfold._ Gaara unconsciously shifted to shield his blonde, his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

"Hello. You just ruined a moment with my _kare. _Oh- only one rule to what you can or can't do in your reactions. Three guesses to what'll happen if you hurt him."

The redhead reached back imperceptibly to grasp Naruto's hand, feeling the warmth contrast the cold sweat appearing on his palms and the back of his neck.

Sighing, he looked down and away. "If you must, go ahead and act like all the homophobic idiots around here... But I don't think it's fair that love should be limited by gender," Gaara stated. "I don't like either guys or girls- I love Naruto. I love who I love, and nothing else matters to me. Besides, Kankurou, don't even say you're against me being with another male; You have plenty of guy on guy pornographies in your room."

Gaara turned to nuzzle Naruto's neck, taking a slightly shaky breath at the possible actions his siblings could take, his anxiety and slight fear transmitting to Naruto strongly.

Kankurou flushed immediately after Gaara stopped talking, a humiliated hiss coming out between his teeth. "H-how'd you know about my mags?!"

Temari, on the other hand, was currently trying to process the whole ordeal. She blinks a few times, almost ready to hit the genin for having had his hands to low on her little brother a moment ago. She held back, however, due to Gaara's speech. In truth, she had her suspicions about Gaara and Naruto getting closer than merely friends, so the kissing itself wasn't so surprising. What really got her goat was how much Gaara had spoken, and how sincerely, and how affectionately he had grasped the other boy's hand and hidden his face in his neck. Temari never thought Gaara could be so touchy-feely, let alone could say so much in one sitting without it being a death threat or rant about proving his existence. Though, this reminded her that his was changed now, and hasn't said anything in that context in a long while (even if there had been a threat laced into his words, it was not at all the same). "I... I don't have a problem with the gender issue, Gaara, honest; I'm really just... well, the Uzumaki kid is a bit _unstable_ for you... n-not to say he'll cheat on you or anything! I mean, he's just... uh..."

Kankurou cracks a grin and lays a hand on the fan wielder's shoulder. "Don't mind her, she's only being overprotective. Personally, I think it's cute that you found someone, and a nice change. Though I can't say I'm not completely shocked to find your tongue down Naruto's throat; if I did, I'd be lying, 'cause I am totally shocked. I had no idea you two have been secretly... Because, seriously, how can you keep a secret like that from me for so long?!"

"Or me!" Temari pipes up, her usual personality coming back with full force. No more soft, shock-still, at-a-loss-for-words Temari. Nope, the tough girl was back, mostly in her own defense.

Naruto grinned as his embarrassment for being caught dwindled and the older Sand siblings accepted his and Gaara's new level of relationship. He gave said redhead a reassuring squeeze of the hand, leaning his head against the other's, enjoying the hot breath that tickled his neck through the collar of his jacket. Sure, Gaara's own anxious emotions had been reflected in the blonde's face for some time, but on hearing what Temari and Kankurou had to say, he felt both himself and Gaara relax as the tightness of the moment faded. _What a relief, ne? _he thinks to the Kazekage.

At the same time, Kankurou looked down at his feet, where a green-tinted pile of ice cream stood not inches away. "Temari, it looks like you need a new cone."

Gaara smirked. "I had to do _something_ else in all my free time, Kankurou. No possessions are safe from me." Gaara nearly laughed again at Temari's flustered explanation.

"Relax, Temari. So long as you aren't going to bang him one with your fan, _unless_ it's fairly justified, I'm alright with anything you say. Well, mostly anything. And to answer your question, Kankurou; very easily. After all, we've already had sex twice." He imagined the first thing his brother would say would be, 'Who tops?' before Temari would glare at him. Gaara gave a small, tender lick to Naruto's earlobe before resting his chin on Naruto's shoulder, now standing slightly behind his kare. His eyes nearly closed, Gaara looked ahead towards his siblings, a content look on his face. _Yes, I suppose. It's certainly better than having to Sand Coffin her for touching you, _he replied, a hint of humor lacing the thought.

The first thing Kankurou did was flinch slightly, not sure how he felt about the strange mental image of his brother having sex - with anyone, let alone Naruto. The second reaction he had was a hint of curiosity in a teasing manner, the 'who's seme?' question being sort of thing he'd want to ask. He didn't however, merely said, "Wow, bro, you finally made it past being a virgin. Congrats."

Temari, opposingly, seemed to be seething. She grit her teeth. "Uzumaki," she growled, "You stole my baby brother's virginity?!"

"Er... well... actually..." he blonde sweats, using his free hand to scratch his cheek. "He kind of stole mine first."

Temari's eyes bugged out of her head, ready to fall out.

Kankurou laughed. "Haha, really? Gaara topped first? I wouldn't have thought he'd have it in him!"

Temari coughed into her hand, a blue looks coming across her face. "I'm not sure I needed to know that," she mutters. "Can we change the topic, please...?"

Kankurou's laughter doesn't cease. "I can't believe it! Hahahaha! Nice going, Gaara! Hahaha!"

Temari promptly smacked the brunette on the back of the head. "Shut up, baka!"

The puppet master, however, continued to snicker into his forearm, which he placed over his mouth to muffle the sound. He felt a little uncomfortable to be talking about his brother's recently adapted sex life, though at the same time was a little proud of the younger boy.

Naruto during all of this was trying not to show in his face the things Gaara's simple actions of breathing down his neck and licking his ear were doing to him. If they hadn't needed to know about the sex, then he doubted they needed to see how true it was. _Overall, I think they took it pretty well, don't you? _he thinks to the redhead, turning halfway around to snake his arm around the other's waist. The blonde noticed the odd look that Temari gave them.

"Kami, you sure are public with your affection now that we know," she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

Out of strange, unexplained curiosity, Kankurou ventures, "So Naruto, should I be surprised to find that you're not always uke?"

Again he earns a smack from Temari. "Don't make him answer that, you perverted bastard!"

He simply bursts into laughter once more. "Wait, no, lemme try again: Should I be surprised to hear wedding bells any time soon?"

Temari rolls her dark teal eyes, not even bothering to smack him this time. It wasn't helping. "Bakayaro."

_Er, almost taking it well... _Naruto chuckles both mentally and physically.

Gaara grinned. "Thanks?" He said in an offhand tone, smiling at Temari's expression.  
"Oh, you didn't think I would be the aggressive one?" He let one arm reach around the blonde's shoulders, licking the other's jaw line.

"Mmmhmm, you said you had nothing against it, and you _did_ ruin a moment. I'm merely continuing it," He said devilishly in reply to Temari's comment. With a soft suck to a part of the blonde's neck, he stepped away, smirking evilly.

"And now I'm done." Grinning playfully, clear to all that he'd gotten the blonde riled up, Gaara licked his lips in a way that would turn on _anyone_ who was the least bit attracted to guys. "Heh."

"Uh... I'm leaving now," Temari says with partial embarrassment, not at all used to the way Gaara was acting. Kankurou seemed unable to snap out of his giggle-fit, currently strolling away and holding his sides.

"You love tormenting people, don't you?" Naruto asks Gaara playfully, speaking for once aloud. He was referring to the way Gaara had riled him up and abruptly stopped the make-out session, as well as giving his siblings possible graphic nightmares. He shrugged. "Nevermind, I see it on your face. You do." The blonde grins suddenly, "But that's just what I like about you."

Gaara glanced at the blonde. "In that case, consider it a basic rule of thumb that from now on I'll blast you with thoughts and pictures but never touch you." No humor was in his voice, and he kept his emotions strictly hidden. Except for an underlying sense of threat and promise that he put into his voice, you couldn't tell what he was thinking. After a moment, he cracked a smile and practically attacked Naruto, kissing him. "Just kidding," he mumbled into the other's lips. _Like I said, it's too hard to resist. _Forcing the blonde's lips open with his tongue yet again, Gaara wrapped his arms around the blonde, stumbling forwards a few steps to push him against a wall. Once again, a hand snaked up beneath the blonde's shirt and jacket, this time to ghost over his sides and spread pale fingers out over the tan expanse of skin, exploring and barely touching, except for the blonde's nipples, which Gaara once again lavished attention upon with one hand.

At first, Naruto looked plainly tortured at the thought, but in a matter of minutes it was forgotten as a barrage of kisses came his way, along with the strangely satisfying feeling of light touches across his skin. A small, muffled moan escaped his lips, one of gratefulness rather than lust. His hand came up around Gaara's neck, leaving a gap big enough between them for the redhead to explore. The blonde's fingers intertwining in silky crimson locks. It was moments like these, unsuspected and tender, that Naruto liked best; it was moments like these he never wanted to end. Which brought Naruto to vaguely wonder about what Kankurou had said about the whole marriage thing... he actually wouldn't mind it at all. He's finally found someone that fits perfectly into his life, heart, and soul, and wouldn't mind being with that person forever. Briefly forgetting their recent mind connection, he thinks: _I do want to marry Gaara some day, just to claim that he's mine, and to have a reason to stay by him always. Though I don't think it's favored to marry another male in Konoha... I'd have to change that when I become Hokage. If that comes too late, then I suppose Gaara could make it happen in Suna... heehee, I'd want it somewhere nice on the outskirts of Sunakagure, somewhere where we could be almost alone. And the desert would look nice, maybe at sunset... or sunrise. But I'm not wearing a dress. I may do the harem jutsu but I'm no crossdresser! _

Suddenly he flushed when he felt Gaara's kissing hesitate, clearly because he had heard his thoughts. "Eh heh... oops."

Gaara froze, tense, and bit his lip, turning away from the blonde. Wordlessly, he started to walk away, numbness radiating through him. He walked dangerously close to the wall and bumped into the corner, almost hard enough to topple himself over. His mind completely blank, he stopped.

"N-a-n-i?" He breathed out slowly, eyes wide and unfocused. Such an idea was over his head, and the changes that would go with it also. Putting his back to the wall, only a few steps from his _kare, _he slid down the surface to sit, his knees up to his chest. Fingers digging into the ground on either side of him, he kept himself closed off as best he could, trying to understand things, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. He wasn't forced to, but if he didn't, he would offend the other, and maybe lose him!

But that wasn't all-- how could anyone so perfect want to marry _him_, of all people?! Who would want to _marry _the former carrier of the Tanuki; portrayed as a clumsy, laughable character, while the fox is graceful and beautiful and blends in!?

The redhead realized he'd put his trembling hand up to the 'ai' scar on his forehead, just above his left eye. What a recognizable habit.

"Gaara...?" Naruto says with heavy concern. "Gaara, if it bothers you so much, I won't make you - I was just thinking... well, you know what I was thinking, I guess, but... Ah, I'm sorry... I didn't stop my thoughts fast enough, and it was really silly, haha... er, not unless you want to...? But... uh..."

He doesn't dare come closer, only watches as his love slumps onto the ground and subconsciously touches his 'ai' scar, the long pale fingers making contact with the still red mark. The kitsune wanted to come over and pull that hand away to kiss it and promise that he didn't mean it and that it doesn't matter, because he was slowly growing afraid that he had offended Gaara in some way. Gaara's thoughts, however, were mostly blank, so Naruto hoped it was merely shock and not offense.

Slowly, cautiously, the blonde approaches, kneeling down beside the other. "Gaara...?" he tries again.

"...Why...?" he uttered, his other hand coming up to grab at his crimson hair. "...Why... would _you..._ of all people... want to marry _me_?... The complications... everything... why!?"

Gaara, though his eyes were unfocused, swung his gaze around to cast it on the blonde, shock and the lack of understanding filtering through his thoughts and the blankness of his expression. His lips were slightly parted, and the way he was trying to focus on the blonde would remind one of a child that had gotten lost.

_...Why?... __Why would someone so perfect... __Want to be bound to someone so tainted and monstrous?..._

"Why?" Naruto repeats softly, peering into Gaara's cool teal eyes. "Because I'm not perfect, and you're not nearly as tainted as you think you are. Sure, you've killed some people... but that was mostly Shukaku's influence, right? And for that matter, I've hurt plenty of people. It's the way of a ninja; sometimes killing is the only option. Of all people, Gaara, I should be the one to marry you; I sympathize with you and your pain, since I'm a bakemono, too. Or have you forgotten that you're emptied of your demon and I'm not?" he informs with a sad smile. Gaara really has come very far; he's not at all the demented, demon-possessed person he was. Naruto technically was still demon-possessed, even if he never had went nearly as insane as Gaara had. But the redhead had every reason at the time, and Naruto sees that. "Don't you believe me when I said that I love you? People who love each other get married, right? Besides, I'm a bit possessive..." he smirks gently. "I don't think I'd ever let you be with anyone else now that I have you."

He stands up again and offers a hand. _The great Kazekage of Sunakagure shouldn't be sitting in the dirt. Come on, _the blonde urges. _We can talk about this back at my house if you want. Or we can drop the topic completely and go do something else. It's your choice. _

Gaara slowly raised his gaze to Naruto's face, and accepted the hand that was offered. Not letting go, he started walking towards Naruto's house, almost dragging the blonde for a moment. When the redhead finally stopped outside the blonde's door, he noticed an open window and frowned slightly. It looked like someone might have been there, but it didn't matter; not at the moment. He let himself in before the blonde did, having let go of the other's hand, and walked in.

Casting his gaze around he felt his blood go cold, then boil up again in that oh-so-familiar way. "No." If he had pupils, they would have dilated in that maniacal way that signified a type of madness. Blood coated the walls of the apartment, three innocent citizens ripped limb by limb on the floor.

And two children, unharmed, were in the room. He could smell it, and hear their whimpers. The bloodlust had returned the minute he entered the room, sand circling him. It was hard to resist, so hard, so, so hard.

"**Hello...**" He growled, nearly staggering to the couch, behind which the children hid. However, halfway there he clutched his head, dropping to his knees, fighting off the urges.

He remembered his teeth, tainted, meant to bite.

His hands, meant to tear and strangle.

His feet, meant to punish.

His smile, meant to scare the crap out of his victims.

His heart, meant to be of cement and stepped on before it was hard, just to show how stupid he was for wishing it was anything but cement.

His love, which was always rejected...

Grinding his teeth, he tried to ignore the blood. And realized that he wouldn't be able to.

xXxXx

Naruto stepped into his apartment, tagging along. The first thing he saw, however, was dark, sickly red covering everything. He stifled a yelp and heard someone greet someone else with a twisted, sinister 'hello' that could only be said in Gaara's deep voice. The blonde turned and looked to his couch, startled to sense not one set of chakra but three, two of which being small like children while the third was none other than his kare's. But it was the torn bodies and the frightened children's faces and made Naruto start to cry, his eyes unable to blink the tears away. Who did this...? And why, in his own home...? Was it to mock that he was the container for Kyuubi, or was it...

He looked to Gaara, feeling a disturbing bloodlust stirring in the pit of his stomach, a mirror of the redhead's own emotions. The demon fox himself was even stirring awake, curious about the scent of blood and fear. And a thought occurred to Naruto: despite no longer holding the Ichibi demon, Gaara remained a potentially dangerous person. Swallowing his shock and panic, Naruto hissed directly into the Kazekage's mind: _Get a hold of yourself! Come over here right now and leave those kids alone. Let me handle them._ Obviously someone had left this mess as either a way of framing himself and/or Gaara, and they hoped the children would either be killed to prove it or left alive to testify. Either way, Naruto wasn't about to let it happen. Sweetly he said to the children, "You're safe now; whoever hurt these other people is gone... why don't you run out the door and fetch a jounnin? Tell them that Naruto Uzumaki sent you."

Turning back to Gaara, Naruto thought with a chill running up his spine: _You're safe too, you know. Get up off your knees and come here, kare... you're no bakemono, remember? Not anymore. You're Kazekage. You're Gaara. And I love you..._

Even with Naruto's support, he couldn't move for fear that his bloodlust would consume him. He stayed still while the children ran past him, crying; he shuddered, still struggling against the emotion, although it wasn't as strong as his potential victims were gone. His bloodlust, like a living thing, forced him to look around in a haze, letting his hands drop from his head. Widened, strange eyes, ones that looked only like the ones he had before Naruto had saved him, gazed almost sightlessly, in a fog as they slid slowly over to Naruto in a strange, horror movie style. His thoughts were drowned in the lust for blood, and he stood slowly, approaching his _kare _in a type of strut that radiated murderous intent and bloodlust. The redhead came closer to the blonde and wrapped his arms around the other, lowering his head and biting the blonde's neck fiercely, harshly enough to draw a steady flow of blood. He felt a sudden pain in the back of his head; his eyes widened, then slowly closed as he released the blonde, slipping to his knees and then collapsing to the side; Temari and Kankurou were already on either side of their brother, as Temari had hit Gaara with her fan.

"What happened, for Gaara to attack you!? Did he kill these people!? Oh, Kami, Naruto- You're bleeding!"

The redhead was laying on the floor in a way that told all present that Temari had done this many times before, and knew exactly how to knock him out so that he landed in a way that, were he to wake before they moved him, he wouldn't have to roll over or anything. A small moan came from the unconscious Kazekage, his brow furrowed in his sleep. A soft, "No.." was heard before he went into a slightly deeper state of unconsciousness.

"I am?" Naruto says in a sort of daze. He looks passed Temari and Kankurou, as if he couldn't see them, but knew that they were there. He brings a hand up to his neck, looking down as he pulled it away, not surprised to find that he was indeed bleeding. If the situation had been different, he would've laughed it off and called Gaara a vampire or use said name as an excuse for a sexual role-play or something silly. But the situation was different: there were other bodies around, and he had felt Gaara's bloodlust in his stomach, strong and cruel and cold. After a moment to make all feeling come back to his legs and toes (not at all realizing they had gone numb to begin with), he says, "He didn't kill anyone... We came here and found it like this..."

He wasn't sure how to answer the other question. He didn't know why Gaara bit him. Maybe it was to get out of his bloodlust; maybe it was some other reason. He knew Gaara was the type to nip and bite when making out, or that first time they made love, but just now...

Again the word '_kyuuketsuki_' comes to mind. _Vampire. _The redhead was hardly such a thing, despite his pale complexion. It was merely temporary bloodlust... right? Naruto wasn't sure of anything at the moment. He just wanted Gaara to wake up and be how he had been before steeping into the bloodied apartment building.

Somehow, the kitsune knew who did this. He bet it was the same teme who had started this whole mess with Gaara days and days ago when Gaara had first come to Konoha. Somehow, this seemed the only logical thing that made sense to Naruto in this instant.

Gaara's eyes fluttered open once again, unnoticed by his siblings as they told Naruto that he'd better go find a medic-nin or something. Gaara slowly raised his gaze to Naruto, scared that what he had done was reality. He stood, knowing it was true, and fled the apartment. Outside, he ran to the back, where it was a deserted alleyway. _...I-I, I hurt him... If I can't even resist a bit of blood, how could I be fit to run a village?... No. Naruto already told me- there's nothing I can do to make him hate me, right? He- he could forgive me... right? Kami, I'm sorry- Kyuuketsuki; I've gone and made him think I'm a kyuuketsuki. Watashi wa gozen anta no baka; I'm such a fucking idiot. I have to make it up to him, though; I've been too dependant on him to help me that I've forgotten how easily I can hurt him and not comfort him. _Gaara took in a deep breath, his hand brushing crimson hair away from his scar, even though the locks fell right back in place not a second after. He turned and opened his eyes, only to be met with the sight of most of Naruto's friends. _They saw, _he realized_. They saw, and I still have his blood on my teeth, on my lips..._

Gaara couldn't help but close his eyes and let out a puff of breath as Sakura hit him in the stomach, causing him to cough out some of his own blood. Letting himself crumple and fall to the ground, he looked away and awaited the next blow.

"YOU MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU!?"

He didn't reply for a full minute.

"I deserve the pain you give me, and so much more," He said softly, his face distorted with pain and sorrow. His sand was coming out of his gourd, now broken as he had landed on it, but he quelled it instantly, sending it off to the side.

"Please,_ please_ kill me. But not yet, not now. Let me see him again."

Gaara's thoughts echoed in Naruto's mind, and after his brain processed that the redhead had fled and thought all those things, Naruto was on the move, running to try and catch up with his beloved.

He hadn't meant to call Gaara a vampire... the name had just popped into his head, probably due to all those late-night horror films he used to watch. He was no vampire, and although Sakura seems to think so, he's no monster, either. The blonde knows what Gaara really is, and it's none of those things! C_hikushou, _he cursed, _This is all that bastard's fault, I just know it. He killed those people and spread their blood around to get Gaara riled up. It has to be that...! _

He came out into the open where Gaara lay, clutching his stomach on the ground. "Sakura-chan! Stop!" He knew the pink-haired girl's strength, and she could kill the Kazekage if she wanted to.

"But he hurt you, Naruto! I can't forgive him for that!"

"He's hurt me before, you know! Like it matters," he snaps, referring to their battle ages ago during the Chunnin exams. He comes and kneels beside his kare. _I know you didn't mean it, Gaara; I know you better than that. I felt what you were feeling... so I understand. I don't hate you, so please, get up. We'll explain everything to them! We can fix this; it's not so bad, honest. There've been worse things... you've got to believe me. _He thinks quickly, while at the same time trying to shoo everyone else away, telling them he could handle this, it's no big deal; they can't comprehend what's really going on. Sakura was persistent, however.

"I'm not going, Naruto. What if he hurts you again, huh?!"

"HE WON'T!" the blonde retorts sharply. "It was... an accident. You don't know... you just don't...!" '_You don't know what goes on inside his head. But I do now.' _He finished in his mind. Gaara, he knows, could hear him. "So just go, Sakura-chan! It's none of your business."

"None of my-- Naruto, you're one of my closest friends! I can't let this slide, got it?"

He couldn't take it any longer. He clenched his fists for a moment before knowing what to do. He grabbed a hold of Gaara and shunshinned away to the first place that came to mind. He ended up on top of the line of Hokage heads, right on the cliff that had them embedded into it's front. There, now they were alone, and they could sort this entire thing out.

Gaara was amazed when Naruto grabbed him and took him to the Hokage heads. Gaara sat up, blinking, and wrapped his arms around the blonde tenderly, not as roughly as he had when he was controlled by the powerful bloodlust that'd come over him. "I'm sorry," _Gomenasai, I'm sorry, so sorry, _"Naruto," He communicated to his kare, first speaking and then thinking. _I never should have let it affect me, _"And I won't ever let anything hurt you again, not even me. Especially not me." _I won't let it affect me again._ "I'm sorry. Aishiteru, Naruto-kun." He gently licked the place on Naruto's neck, where he had bitten him so forcefully, attempting to soothe him. He trailed soft kisses up to Naruto's jaw, and took the blonde's ear in his mouth, nibbling it gently.

_Are you alright, mai ichi koi, my only love? Please say that you are. _Gaara held the blonde closer, trying to ignore the emotions coming from his _kare_.

"I... Of 'course I am. Sturdy as a brick, remember?" he says after some time, his mixed emotions settling themselves. _I told you... nothing you could do would make me hate you. Even if you'd had crushed me to death - ha, like you would ever! - I'd still love you in spirit-- in my afterlife, I'd love you. I see that now, _he nods, pulling Gaara's face out far enough to look at. "You have some blood left on your chin," he says softly, licking his thumb and wiping it off. _And it won't affect you again; I'll personally see to it. Here, let's rest a while and calm our nerves before going back to face everyone. I can sense that's what you want, right?_ Naruto ventures, slowly lowering them to sit on the ground and stare out at the village stretched out below them. He held the 'Kage close in between his legs, trying to return the favor of soothing his partner.

Gaara leaned back into Naruto's chest, raising up a hand to caress the other's cheek. Gaara brought a tanned hand to his lips and kissed it softly. _Hai, it is. Thank you; you seem to comfort me more than I do you. I'm sorry that I'm not very good at it, _he replied. Languidly rolling so that he faced the blonde (rubbing against the blonde quite seductively as he did), he brought up the memory of the alleyway.

_Perhaps we should finish what we started?_ A kiss was placed tenderly on the blonde's cheek, and then another placed on his lips. His hand slipped up, once more, under the blonde's jacket, which was becoming quite predictable, but this time it ghosted over his hips, just above his pants. Gaara licked Naruto's bottom lip, unusually tender and tentative.

Naruto knew even without thinking that parts of Gaara's actions were meant to make it up to him for the loss of control. He didn't mind it, though; any excuse to touch the redhead was good enough for him. _You have every reason not to be good at it. I, of all people, should know. _He thinks in reply to Gaara's first statement. As for the other… Well, the kitsune knew what to do to answer that.

He unzipped his own jacket, shrugging it off onto the grassy top of the cliff. He leaned back to that Gaara was resting gently on top of him. Naruto brought the redhead's lips to his, slipping in his tongue to taste hints of blood, stress, love, and very vaguely caramel from his ice cream. It was an odd combination to be sure, but an addicting one as well. _I'm not sure if it's the thrill of a first true love or what, but it seems we can't get enough of each other, can we? _the blonde purrs in his mind to Gaara, his hands digging under layers of clothing to caress pale skin. He draws out of Gaara's mouth, sucking lightly on the redhead's bottom lip before nuzzling into his neck.

Gaara smirked happily as the blonde explored his mouth. When the blonde hid his face in the redhead's neck, he stuck out his tongue and licked the blonde's jaw line, the only thing he could reach without disturbing the blonde. _No, I think we can't. But that's a good thing, so I don't really mind. _A hand reached down into Naruto's pants, and then his boxers, stroking the other boy's length languidly before beginning to please him with skilled fingers. Gaara suddenly felt he had too many clothes on and removed his hand to pull off his shirt and the armor plate on top of it, and then kiss Naruto again. He could still taste the vanilla of the blonde's ice cream, and the natural distinct taste of honey that the other had, as well as the taste of ramen, for the blonde was rarely found without a bowl of it somewhere nearby. Allowing his fingers to ghost over Naruto's tanned skin, he felt the other's arousal as clearly as his own.

_Ne, Naruto, about what you said in concern to Kankurou's wiseass remark regarding wedding bells... I think I'd like that. But not yet. Not yet, since it might take a while to convince the Council anyway, but soon, I promise. _With another lick to the blonde's jaw, Gaara brought his head over that of the other boy's, commencing a kiss that caused their tongues to weave and clash in a way that was so sexually arousing that it should have been censored. A faint pink tint appeared on the Kazekage's cheeks, as it often did, although sometimes it went unnoticed. Allowing his hips to buck forward and down, driving his erection against that of his lover, Gaara moaned into the kiss that was so numbingly mind-blowing.

Sure, the first touches on his manhood were small enough to get him hard and greedy for more, but the next round of kisses sent him spiraling down into a world only known as Gaara, which was a very rich, heavenly place indeed. He could get lost in one of those endless kisses, in which Naruto couldn't tell whose tongue was more practiced or whose cheeks were flushed more, or whose spit tasted best.

_Take your time in making those wedding plans, _Naruto thinks with a mental grin, _I don't mind. To me, it could take forever as long as I –_

But his thoughts were cut off as Gaara began to move against him, a ragged inhale of surprise pleasure entering his lips. At the same time a moan from Gaara was muffled by his mouth, and his own moaning soon followed, though he tried his best not to pant into their long kiss. An electric spark jumped to his toes as Naruto rolled the two of them over, all memory of his bloodied apartment and Sakura's angered face retreating to the forgotten recesses of his mind. All that mattered now was his body against Gaara's, warm and smooth and loving.

He kept their lips caught in a passionate kiss while he shifted on top of his kare, his tan hands working to slide down Gaara's pants enough to get a good grip on the desired fruit hidden inside. Pretty soon he found his mouth, on it's own, trailing down the 'Kage's neck, passed his chest, skimming teasingly down toned abs before licking in a full circle around Gaara's belly button. He then swiped the back of his knuckles across the borderline between stomach and underwear line, a sensitive spot of skin he knew by their connection would tickle his love. Then, smirking, he pulled down said underwear to take a steadily throbbing head into his mouth.

Naruto wasn't so sure if this was finishing what they started in the alleyway or if this was solely lust taking over. It could be instead that he wanted to also make Gaara forget the recent events, or perhaps he simply wanted to thank the Kazekage for agreeing to marriage. Either way, the taste of the other on his tongue and the mix of his own emotions and blissful moans as well as Gaara's were enough to send him far enough over the edge to go this far on the grassy knoll.

Gaara gasped when Naruto opened his lips, his breath puffing warmly onto his erection, and warm lips took him in. ((A/N: This is the only reason I could ever dislike yaoi. STUPID 'him' and 'his' 's!)) Shooting up in surprise and pleasure, Gaara's fingers found their way into Naruto's hair and pulled at the blonde locks, his eyes closed in ecstasy as he felt the other beginning to suck on him. "Nggh..."

All his senses were slowly dissipating except for the ones concerning the nerves that Naruto was so delightfully lighting up with pleasure.

The redhead grinned somewhat. "I guess I should ask you to marry me, as per custom, right?" He managed, feeling a shudder work its way down his back. He felt himself start to sweat, and he gave a short laugh. "Strange way... to get... engaged, ne?" He panted out.

Naruto paused, his lips pulling away first, the tip of his tongue coming off last as he replies with a breathless chuckle, "Strange indeed…" He lifts his head slightly, adding: "But I think I already proposed to you when I thought of it," he winks, peering upwards into cool pupiless eyes, a dribble of spit shimmering on his lips. Not breaking the eye contact, the kitsune purrs seductively while leaning upwards and pressing against his soon-to-be-kouhai (in this case not meaning a junior at school but 'spouse'), "So, what do you want now?" _I'm all yours; and I always will be._

_You, of course,_ Gaara replied. _What else could I ever want?_ Drawing the blonde closer so that he could give the other yet another deep, long kiss, Gaara reached down into Naruto's pants, once more touching the blonde in a way that was satisfying but addictive and never gave enough. Rolling the blonde over onto his back, Gaara kissed his way down Naruto's chest. Unbeknownst to either of them, Sakura (Along with Neji, Lee, TenTen, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino) was looking for them both. However, Gaara pulled away as he could hear the sounds of running beneath them, remembering that they were practically out in the open. Whispering an apology to his _kare_, Gaara pulled on his clothing again and straightened himself out before helping Naruto with his clothing. Just as he finished helping the blonde and gave him another kiss on the lips, the several other shinobi appeared. Sakura, of course, was the first to run up. Scowling, she punched Gaara hard enough to send him rolling off edge of the cliff, coughing blood once again as he struggled to stay on solid ground. His sand was too far away to help in that very minute, still at street level and many more minutes away.

He heard, dully, some of the Leaf-nin protesting against what Sakura had done - hadn't she seen them hugging!? (Why had they been so close, on the ground, anyway?) - but it faded to nothing as his fingers let go their hold on the rock.

He didn't scream as he started to plummet downwards.

Naruto felt a churn in his stomach, an echo of Gaara's own fear as he slipped off the edge. "Fuck!" he seemed to scream, both for Gaara, himself, and at Sakura. Thinking quickly, and trying to think how long Gaara had before he hit ground or one of the Hokage heads, he summoned up some clones. "Kage bushin no jutsu!" he barked, gritting his teeth as he preformed the hand sign. The blonde would need the extra bodies as hands to hold onto any ledge available, or as a cushion to land on.

He threw himself over the edge, ignoring all the other Leaf shinobi's yells of protest and confusion. The clones followed, and he used their bodies and weight to form a sky-diving circle, leaning downwards to catch up with Gaara's falling figure. _Gaara! Spread out your arms and legs! It'll slow you down! _he urged mentally as he and his clones tried to surround his love. _I'm coming for you...!_

Gaara did spread out his arms and legs, as wide as he could. After what seemed like an eternity, he found himself in the blonde's arms, his Shadow Clones holding them up halfway down the cliffside. Gaara slowly opened his eyes as Naruto's clones swung them back up onto the top of the cliff, and he tried not to start trembling as he reluctantly left the shelter of his lover's arms, only to stand next to him quietly, sticking his head almost under Naruto arm, glaring softly at the pink-haired kunoichi after what felt like an hour. "Bakabakashii!" He said, without humor in his voice. "If I had died, Naruto would never be the same. I hope," He added slowly. "After all... Naru, should we keep it a secret or let them know? It's going to get out anyway, but..."

Gaara hardly moved from his position, wrapping his arms around the Jinchuuriki from behind. "Naruto, you would be sad if I died, right?" Having missed out on seeing the blonde cry when he had died the first time, Gaara had never thought of how the blonde would react to his death.

Sakura got a guilty look on her face. "I... I didn't mean for you to fall off! I was angry, and..." she shook her head. "I don't think anyone would forgive me if you had died just now, least of all Naruto. He probably wouldn't tell you, but he had gotten so sad and so hurt when you... the first time," she says slowly, avoiding the word 'died'.

Naruto turns his head and brings an arm up to hold into one of his kare's, which was currently laced around in front of him. "It's true." He cracks a weak smile. "In fact, you could say that I was bawling my eyes out. I even yelled at Chiyo-baasama to shut up, afterwards questioning her. 'Do you have any idea what sort of burden he carried?' I asked. 'You all think you're better than us, don't you? Damn the Jinchuuriki!' and all sorts of things like that. A long time ago when we were in the Mist fighting a pair of nins named Haku and Zabuza, I thought Haku had killed Sasuke. I got really mad and went into a full demon-fox-fueled rage, but I didn't cry. Remember, Sakura? You were there."

The girl nods, her guilty feeling remaining a weight on her chest. "Yeah, I remember."

"So you see, Gaara? If you died, I'd be heartbroken, would cry even more, and would probably never smile again. Especially since you had already left me once."

"I'm sorry, Gaara," Sakura says to the Kazekage. "Naruto was right earlier; I didn't know what happened, and to be honest I let my temper get the better of me too often. But... I can't say I won't hit you again if you hurt him another time in the future!" she adds, despite her guilt.

_And yes, we might as well tell them... _"Glad you apologized, Sakura," Naruto starts. "Because I love him."

Sakura glanced at Naruto, and then Gaara. "You don't mean..."

Lee came forward and did his Nice Guy Pose. "YOSH! The flames of youth burn brightly, for Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun are good friends! What youthful-"

"Not like that, Lee." Gaara replied slowly, savoring the confused faces around him. "In fact, Naruto and I are already making wedding plans. Anyone want to help convince Tsunade to change the rules around here?"

Hinata promptly fainted.

Lee took it in stride, and quickly flashed a blinding smile. "I will! Nothing is better than finding love! The flames of youth burn brighter as the love between Gaara-kun and Naruto-kun also steadily burns, fueled by their everlasting passion!"

Neji, TenTen, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba stared at Lee. Neji tiredly clapped his hand over the Leaf-nin's mouth. Sakura smiled softly. "That's great, Naruto. I'm... really happy for you... Although I have to say, I never expected you to start batting for your own team," She said with a small chuckle.

Kiba snuck up next to Naruto, looked him up and down, and sniffed him. "Oi, guys, Gaara topped first. I can tell."

The tension in the air dissipated, the Leaf-nin all laughing. Gaara joined in the laughter, making the others pause before continuing the fun.

_I can't believe you mentioned the marriage part, Gaara. I didn't say anything about it because I didn't want to overload them; thought they wouldn't be able to take that much. But hey, after what Kiba had said, I guess it pales in comparison, _the blonde thinks as he laughs along with everyone else. _Jeez, talk about mood swings. One minute we're making out, the next you're falling off a cliff, and the next we're all laughing, if not a little nervously. What a fucked up day, eh? _He thinks with a small outward shake of the head. He was suddenly extremely glad of their connection; it made talking to Gaara about personal things a lot easier.

Relief and a sense of confidence washed over Naruto as everyone's laughter dwindled, and he pulled Gaara around to his left to hold securely around the waist. First Temari and Kankurou, now all his comrades... heaven knows that the rest of Konoha and Suna were next to know. It didn't bother him, though; he knew he was right in his choice and felt comfortable with his other pecious peoples' knowledge of who he was in love with. Although, they could have done without Kiba's comment... Naruto wasn't sure he wanted everyone to know his sex life. Though it was one cat that was bound to get out of the bag eventually, so again he found himself alright with it. It was liberating all the acceptance that was going around, both by Naruto and the others. He grinned broader.

Naruto's grin faded, however, as he remembered what mess he had to go back to. "So, uh, anyone up for helping catch the bastard that vandalized my house?"

Gaara sighed and pinched his nose. "Yeah, that bastard is _really _starting to get on my nerves," he mumbled, his face distorting for a millisecond with remembered pain.

Lee frowned. "Gaara-kun was hurt, I take it? Then he must feel the flames of youthful wrath!"  
Kiba frowned. "Is this bastard you're talking about the green-haired guy I smelled (and saw) around your apartment?" Receiving a heated glare from Gaara, he nodded.

"Aa, I'm in. He tried to kick Akamaru, eh buddy?" The large dog that had been lounging by a rock lifted up it's head and whined. Shikamaru sighed. "Aa, it's troublesome, but I may as well help out." TenTen giggled and raised an eyebrow. "_Everything _is troublesome for you. Except, of course, that blonde from Suna."

Gaara blinked. "You're crushing on my sister?... Well, at least it's not as unexpected as me and Naruto."

"Pssh, I'll say; Shikamaru and Temari were together the day I came back from my training with Ero-Sennin. They said it was work, but I knew better," Naruto winks. Then he frowns. "Wait, are we so unexpected? In retrospect, I've always sort of..." but he drifts off.

Sakura gives him a questioning look, quickly recapping the past few years and all the interactions and reactions between her teammate and the redhead currently standing beside him. "Hmm," she hums thoughtfully, "I suppose it wasn't so unexpected."

Hinata slowly comes to, sitting up from her place on the ground. But she takes one look at Naruto and Gaara, arms around each other, and looks as if she was about to cry. Kiba turns around at a squeak she makes, decidedly kneeling down beside her. "Oi, Hinata, you feelin' okay?" he asks, concern hidden in his casual tone.

Naruto is oblivious to this (pretty much always has been when it came to Hinata) so he says, "Great; glad everyone's in. Gaara's siblings and I have to leave for Sunakagure in a couple days, but hey, you guys can maybe be on the lookout for the teme or get the old hag to assign you on a tracking mission or something." His suggestion sounded logical enough to him, and every little bit helped. They can't let too much more happen, or else... And besides, this guy deserved to be caught after all the damage he's caused so far. "

Gaara smiled softly. _Good idea, kare. _"Really, Sakura? Let's look at it from an uninformed villager's point of view. Two guys, who fought each other viciously a year ago, all of a sudden, over the span of about a week, have sex more than twice and pretty much get engaged, having found out that they love each other in less than a day, thanks to a bout of the aforementioned activity. Oh, yeah, that's really expected. Kinda reminds me of Romeo and Juliet." Gaara smirked slightly, closing his eyes. "I'm surprised they took it so well," He murmured softly, letting his gaze wander along the trees above them- There! Had he really seen those eyes in the bushes, or was it his imagination? Gaara instantly narrowed his eyes, yet disregarded what he had seen. It _must_ have been his imagination. "Naru, Let's go find Temari and Kankurou. I have a feeling that they're worried sick about us; After all, the last they saw of us was you shunshinning us away with a ballistic Sakura dragging other Leaf-nin along." Turning to the other shinobi, he bowed awkwardly. "I'm glad to know that Naruto has friends that wouldn't think any less of him because of who he chooses to be with," He said gratefully. He slowly turned and walked to the edge of his cliff, his sand finally having had appeared, and stepped onto it. "Since it's a much faster way, who wants to take a ride?" Some of the Leaf-nin blinked before smiling and hopping aboard the cloud of sand. Who would've thought that Gaara would open up so much?

Who would have thought indeed. But everyone took it as a welcoming sign, and in no time they were catching up to two running Sand nins with worried expressions. "Oi, Kankurou, Temari! Up here!" Naruto hollered, waving a hand from up in the air. Temari sent a questioning look, wondering what had happened in such a short amount of time to have half of Konoha (well, not quite, but all of it's top young shinobi) was riding with their brother on his sand and why a few of them bore smiles. "Gaara, are you alright?" his sister asks after she shoves her confusions aside.

"You scared the shit out of us with all of that ruckus. I mean, I though Sakura was going to--" Kankurou starts.

"But I didn't!" said pink-haired girl snaps in her defense. "We got somewhat of an explanation, so everything's fine."

"Yup," Naruto nods. He wonders if he should tell Gaara's siblings about the fall... hmm, it'd be best not to. Naruto had saved them both, so there was nothing to worry about now. Except for the thoughts the redhead had transmitted before they left. He thought he saw eyes... eyes, no doubt, of the green-haired mystery man. The kitsune said nothing about this, however, since Gaara had shrugged it off for a mistake of imagination.

There was idle chatter between Temari, Kankurou, and the rest; mostly a fill-in of a few things that were decided or have been confessed. Temari looked a tad proud that Gaara had shared so much with the others, a feat he rarely succumbs to. Suddenly, a strange growling sound is heard. Everyone looks to the whiskered blonde.

"Eh heh... anyone hungry?" Naruto sweatdrops, throwing an arm behind his head and a hand on his stomach.

Gaara laughed, and finally hopped off his sand.

"Thanks to you, yes. I feel like having ramen." The redhead seemed inseparable from the blond, really. Always standing just a few inches away, or when in company that knew about them, practically hanging off his arm. Gaara was currently nuzzling Naruto's neck from behind. _I also feel like having you, later._ Gaara thought, mentally smirking.

"Ramen it is," the kitsune says aloud happily. "Who else is coming?"

"More importantly, who's paying?" Kiba asks.

"Everyone can just pay for themselves," Temari says stiffly. "What do you expect us to do? Baby you and pay for your meal?"

"No, but--"

Naruto laughs at the scene, noticing silently that each of the shinobi were more comfortable with themselves and their surroundings than Naruto currently felt. He tried not to show it so not to worry Gaara, even purring a response to the redhead (_Hmm, I may take you up on that offer,_) with a wriggle of his eyebrows, but something in the back of his mind told him not to become too soft. Already he's been off alert and countless things have happened. So he must stay ever ready to jump out and protect what he cared about.

* * *

**Arianna: hot dog! if you've read this far, i officially hand you a medal and vanilla an caramel ice cream. you know why. -licks lips- **

**and yeah... fun chap, ne? tell us about it in a review, then! :D**

**Rianne:** -**laughs- -awards everyone who reviews Gaara and Naruto action figures with removable clothes, several outfits, and sperm-shooting action lmfao xDDD-**

**Hey! I'm going to put up a poll. Let's see how well you can tell us apart! You'll have to guess which combination we roleplay with, and if you get it right, I'll personally write you a oneshot. ('Course, you could try to persuade Ari to do it too, or for me/her/us to do something else, haha. Remember to say what you voted for in a pm or review so that I can dedicate it to you properly and we know who gets them! :D**


	5. Stretched :IT'S LONG, WHAT CAN I SAY?:

**Arianna: HO SNAP. this is so0o0o long; over 21,000 words! wtf!! maybe we went overboard while roleplaying this chapter in our e-mails... :0 **

**-ahem- anyways, were nearly at 10 reviews and it's such a wonderous thing. and heh heh, glad to be taching some of you Japanese! LoL. we do it for kicks. ;P **

**please review this chapter if none others! it's a story all by itself with how long it is and it's terribly fun, if i do say so mysefl!**

**Rianne: **I was like, 'whoa' when I saw the length a this thing! It's over 90 emails long tho', so I woulda' snapped on it if it were shorter xD

ENJOY, MY FRIENDS! FEAST YOURSELVES!

* * *

Gaara opened his eyes to the familiar whiteness of his room, located in the Kazekage tower/mansion in Suna. Was it just a dream...?

A loud yell from the kitchen nearby told him it wasn't.

"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK! THAT'S MY RAMEN, DAMNIT!!"

...Apparently Naruto was addicted to ramen. Smiling and crawling out of bed, still in his knee-length red silk nightgown (Since as Naruto had finally gotten him to start sleeping, Gaara found it very addictive) and entered the kitchen, leaning on the doorway languidly. He watched as Kankurou teased the blonde, finally returning the bowl of ramen when the kitsune started to rant about how he'd tell Temari about something he found in the Sand-nin's room. Gaara entered the room slowly to give his _kare_ a hug. "Ne, we've only been in Suna since last night, and you're already finding something to yell about?"

Naruto smiled as he set down the ramen at the table and returned the hug. "You know me: morning person through and through once I'm up, no matter what the amount of travel or sleep time." _It's really Kyuubi, though. He heals pretty much all of my weariness while I sleep,_ the blonde explains. He lets go and seats himself, handing an extra pair of chopsticks to Gaara. "Wanna share? A Kazekage needs his strength."

"And his coffee," Kankurou grins. "Here." He hands Gaara a mug with sloshing dark luquid inside, feeling generous due to his younger brother's drastic change from the past couple of weeks. The brunette turns on Naruto. "Oh, sure, share your precious ramen with him and not me..."

"You were trying to _steal_ it!" Naruto says, his mouth half full of a long stream of noodles. "You saw, Gaara! He was trying to steal it!"

Kankurou laughs. "Yeah, yeah... Oi, I'll see you two later. I have things to attend to. Ja," he waves, exiting the kitchen.

The blonde smiles at Gaara. "You going to eat with me or not?"

Gaara took the chopsticks and sat down, taking a bite of the ramen slowly, making sure that it wasn't too hot. Assured the noodles weren't going to burn his mouth, Gaara took more of them, closing his eyes as he ate. The flavor of the ramen Naruto had made was slightly spicy, but not to the point where it made him want water. Savoring the taste, he could see why Naruto liked it so much.

Making a mental note to buy some later, he resumed eating, his head turned slightly towards Naruto's. After all, the ramen dish was between them, and he'd rather have a short distance between his mouth and the bowl.

Smirking to himself, Naruto aimed his chopsticks at what he thought would be the end of Gaara's line of noodles. He pinched the golden streams between the chopsticks and lowered his head, slurping hard and fast. The blonde leaned into the line of ramen, sucking up the taste of chicken, miso, spices and finally - Gaara's surprised lips. He stared into newly opened pale orbs, biting the noodles with his front teeth and swallowing before daring to slip his tongue inside and scoop more noodles from Gaara's mouth. "That was my bite of ramen," he grins, a few drops of broth trailing down his chin. Even first thing in the morning, all Naruto could think of were ways to smuggle liplock away from his kare.

Gaara smiled slowly. "Oh, was it? I hadn't noticed." Taking another bite of ramen, this time without taking his eyes off of Naruto, he slurped a thick line of noodles slowly, winking when he swallowed and bobbed his head at the same time. "This ramen is good," He said, glancing around the kitchen. "But, I do believe..." Laying his chopsticks on the table quickly and practically launching himself onto Naruto, kissing him and reaching downward, _That you're better._ In the middle of a kiss, Gaara's stomach growled, and he blushed as he pulled away. "I think my hunger is disagreeing, for once." Reluctantly returning his attention to the ramen, Gaara gave an apologetic half-grin to his _kare._

Naruto couldn't help it. He laughed. "Don't worry, you have plenty time to eat breakfast prior to eating me, 'ttebayo," the kitsune winks at the redhead. "In fact..." he continues, his smile growing anew. "You could say you have all day. Temari thought it'd be best for the Kazekage to get one final day of rest after a big traumatic trip before diving into his duties." _So that means we can do whatever you like... or_** I**_ like... today._

The blonde doesn't wait for any feedback, merely dunks his chopsticks back into the bowl and shoves another mouthful in.

"She did, did she? Hmm. Have anything in mind?"

Gaara was rarely one to give over control when he had it, but he thought it might be a nice change of pace for the blonde to have control just for today. He let that sentiment go through to Naruto as he, too, slurped some of the noodles, noisily for once.

"Hmm, well, let's see... I was thinking mostly a moonlit walk on the beach with love making under the firework-lit sky, but obviously that's not going to happen," Naruto jokes. "Although... karaoke would be fun, too." He knows this isn't what the redhead would have expected, but he knew the time for what he wanted would come later. In the meantime, all the kitsune wished for were small moments with his lover, the kinds of silly things he's always wanted to experience but never had the chance to. Like singing horribly/wonderfully in a duet while holding your lover's hand. Moments like that.

To shut himself up, Naruto finished off most of the remainder of the ramen between them.

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Well, if you had really wanted, that would be possible. I'll even try to make that part of the honeymoon, if you want one. But what's karaoke?" The redhead looked, carelessly, at the blonde. "C'mon, explain it. Otherwise it'll never happen."

Naruto perks up. "Really? That'd be so awesome!" But then the second half of Gaara's words sunk in. "You're kidding, right? Gaara, karaoke is when you sing your favorite song into a microphone while the instrumentals- music without the words- for the song plays. Haven't you ever sung at... er, wait, never mind; you probably wouldn't have... Still, it'd be a lot of fun! I'll even go first so that you get the idea of what to do," he tells the other. The ramen between them was now empty save for a drop or two of broth and one uneaten piece of carrot. So, with breakfast being over with, Naruto stands and takes Gaara by the arm. "Come on, we're singing karaoke."

Gaara plucked the piece of carrot out of the bowl and put it between his lips, chewing thoughtfully as Naruto led him out of the kitchen. "Demo, do you even know where you're going?" Seeing the amusing sweatdrop on the other's face, he tilted his head to the side. "Let's ask Temari or Kankurou. They're bound to know. Not that I'm saying you don't." The redhead stopped in front of a plain looking door that had 'Puppet Master' carved into it in scratchy, uneven lettering. "I keep telling him to stop doing that, but he never learns," He muttered. Opening the door, to find Kankurou reading a guyxguy porno (blushing and hiding it as soon as Gaara and Naruto were visible). Gaara repeated a single word - 'Karaoke'.

Kankurou immediately replied, "Next to the Ice Pools," and was in front of the door, shooing them away.

Gaara shrugged, and led Naruto outside. At sighting the Ice Pools (which turned out to be both hot springs and cool tubs, both segregated by gender) Gaara turned slowly to the left. A building stood next to it, saying 'Your Tunes' in big bold neon letters. Obviously the place in Suna that had the most money spent on it, and the most used, Gaara glanced at Naruto. There was certainly a crowd there, and Gaara bit his lip slightly before nodding, and heading towards it. "Let's sing, then, ne?"

Naruto could sense the small wave of nervousness emitting from Gaara; he didn't need Kyuubi's connection to tell that. Gaara's lip-biting body language was enough, and of 'course the look in the depths of his eyes helped. Yet the blonde put on a grin and shuffled inside, his elbow linked with Gaara's. Music was playing over the speakers in a melodic thrum, causing the walls to appear to be breathing.

Passed the partying off-duty ninjas and up near where the DJ stood cranking out the tunes before the next round of singers, there was a table with clipboards for signing and binders with lists of singable songs by title. Sudden excitement played through Naruto's system like the music over his head, and he flashed countless smiles at the redhead. A woman at the table organizing the lists and checking them over spotted the two. "Oh! Kazekage-sama! How unexpected..."

"We'd like to sing a couple songs for ya," Naruto says with a sly mark in his tone.

"Of 'course!" the woman nods, jumping into action. "Anything for the Kazekage-sama!" She stood from her seat and came around the table to them, picking up a clipboard, a calligraphy pen, and a binder or two. "What did you have in mind?"

"We'll just browse and write out our entries when we're finished, thank you," the kitsune says politely, taking the objects from her arms. He leads his kare over to a set of stairs near another end of the room, leading up to who knows what. He sat down and opened the first binder. "So they go by title, hmm?" he thinks aloud. _What song were you thinking you might sing, Gaara? _

Gaara scanned the list and checked off two songs discreetly without letting Naruto see or know what they were, and making it seem he'd only checked one; He then smiled. "How about Everything I Do by Celine Dion and Bryan Adams? I think it's a good duet. Only one I know, really. Which one do you want to do by yourself?"

_You can go first, then me, then both of us. We'll make it sound like it's both of us for the audience. That way they won't realize until we get the laws changed._ Gaara glanced back at his song choice, hid it from view, and smiled at Naruto again.

"For myself I was thinking Break Me, Shake Me by Savage Garden. I have my reasons..." he hints, though did not give away through his thoughts as to what or why. Instead, Naruto takes the clipboard from Gaara and jots down what he had mentioned, a smile in place. "So it's settled then. Here, I'll go give this to that jumpy girl up front."

He sees Gaara nod and walks away, twirling the pen between his fingers. The blonde sets the binders and clipboard on the table, winking once at the girl before heading off in the direction from once he came. The DJ would probably read off the names of the next singers, and he wondered if she would place himself and Gaara in the spotlight that soon. Either way, he knew he was in for one hell of a ride.

The announcer appeared on stage as the previous Karaoke singer left.

"Well, that was Em Tsuj, singing Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter. Next up is a new addition to today's growing list. Up next is Uzumaki Naruto with Break Me, Shake Me, by Savage Garden, followed by our own Kazekage with What Is Love by Haddaway. Give it up, folks, for Naruto!!"

Gaara smiled and gave the blonde a nudge toward the stage, giving a small smile as the blonde tried to question him about his song choice. Shaking his head, he thought, _I have my reasons._

Gaara was playing the same trick card Naruto had, and the blonde just rolled his eyes, took the mic, and talked up on stage. The lights around him were hot but not bright, the soft multi-colors of the glass bulbs dancing rainbow shadows across his face.

That strange, queasy feeling of anxious nerves before doing public speaking came to Naruto then, although it never happened when he was in public. Maybe that came from being a natural loudmouth. Singing was a different matter completely, though the blonde has done it on occasion in the past. All those times had been with friends at parties, and this was obviously nothing like those. He hadn't been so queasy a moment ago while choosing a song or trying to guess Gaara's reasoning in song choice. Yet here he was now, shaking in the least bit as he cleared his throat.

The crowd began to snap in time with the beat in the beginning, the flowing sound of low guitar cords filling the room.

First verse coming up between his lips, Naruto started to sing in his clear, string voice:

"I never thought I'd change my  
Opinion again  
But you moved me in a way that I've  
Never known  
You moved me in a way that I've  
Never known…

"But straight away you just moved  
Into position again  
You abused me in a way that I've  
Never known  
You abused me in a way that I've  
Never known…

"So break me shake me hate me  
Take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone  
Just break me shake me hate me  
Take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone

"So you're the kind that deals with the  
Games in the mind  
Well you confuse me in a way that  
I've never known  
You confuse me in a way that I've  
Never known…

"So break me shake me hate me  
Take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone  
So won't you break me shake me hate me  
Take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone…

"She says, 'I can help you, but what  
Do you say?  
'Cause it's not free baby, you'll have  
To pay…'  
You just keep me contemplating, that  
Your soul is slowly fading…"

He moves swiftly across the stage, a handful of people on his mind as he sang the ever-true lyrics.

God, don't you know that I live with a ton  
Of regret?  
'Cause I used to move you in a way  
That you've never known  
But then I accused you in a way that  
You've never known  
But you've hurt me in a way that I've  
Never known…" and his voice cracks, thinking of who he was technically singing to at that point, as well as in the last few parts.

"Break me shake me hate me  
Take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone  
So won't you break me shake me  
Hate me take me over  
When the madness stops then you  
Will be alone…

"Listen, baby  
You'll be, you'll be alone

"Break me shake me hate me take  
Me make me  
Fake me break me shake me hate  
Me take me  
Break me…" he finishes, panting after the dead end of the song.

He stares out at Gaara, wondering distantly what his kare thought of his performance. Hardly professional, he knew, but he liked how he had ended up sounding. Sure, his voice cracked that one time, and in one spot or another it probably sounded a bit feminine, but it can't be helped. Next up will be Gaara… And boy, was he eager to hear that.

Gaara felt an echo of Naruto's nervousness, then his delight at having done well. He smiled and clapped, just loudly enough for Naruto to hear. The announcer returned, smiling and waving Naruto off the stage. "Now, here comes Sabaku No Gaara, our very own Kazekage! I can't wait to hear his version of What Is Love, By Haddaway!!" It was obvious that the enthusiasm was forced, and that the announcer clearly didn't think Gaara could sing.

Gaara appeared on the stage, frowned slightly at the bright lights, and slowly eyed the audience as the music started blaring.

"What is love  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more  
Oh, baby don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more

"What is love?  
Yeah

"Oh, I don't know why you're not there  
I give you my love, but you don't care  
So what is right, and what is wrong  
Gimme a sign," Gaara began, his voice loud and clear, smooth and so even and melodic that some would die for it. Obviously he had sung a _lot_ in those sleepless years. Going up to the edge of the stage, crouching down to allow some fangirls to grab his hand, he smiled.

"What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more  
What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more

Whoa, whoa, whoa, oooh, oooh  
Whoa, whoa, whoa, oooh, oooh…"

It was clear that Gaara knew the lyrics well, because he didn't even glance at the screen with them on it. Stepping back from the edge, he waited patiently for the lyrics to start up again.

"Oh, I don't know, what can I do  
What else can I say, it's up to you  
I know we're one, just me and you  
I can't go on.

What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more  
What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more

Whoa, whoa, whoa, oooh, oooh  
Whoa, whoa, whoa, oooh, oooh

What is love, oooh, oooh, oooh  
What is love, oooh, oooh, oooh…"

Gaara had started to sway his hips a bit throughout the song, and now he was actually _dancing. _A mental wink was sent to Naruto, as he started to sing again. _This is actually entertaining, _he thought.

"What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more

Don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me

I want no other, no other lover  
This is your life, our time  
When we are together, I need you forever  
Is it love?

What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more  
What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more (oooh, oooh)

What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more  
What is love?  
Oh baby, don't hurt me  
Don't hurt me, no more (oooh, oooh)

"What is love?"

Gaara's voice resonated throughout the bar as the music faded out. Breathing only a little bit heavier than normal, he was amazed when everyone started cheering and applauding, some of them even going so far (well, the girls, that is) as to wave a recently-made sign saying 'Marry me!' and 'I want to bear your children!'.

The announcer came back onstage, grinning and clapping. "And now we have a duet - Both Naruto and our Kazekage are going to sing Everything I Do by Celine Dion and Bryan Adams - Together! Let's hear it for them!" Gaara looked offstage to where Naruto was as the announcer handed the blonde a microphone.

For a moment multiple emotions flashed through Naruto, one being jealousy, and not for Gaara's singing voice (which actually made him go slightly weak in the knees) but for the girls throwing themselves at his kare. He nearly wanted to smack them away like bothersome mosquitoes, or tear down their 'marry me' signs (_He's marrying ME, bitches!_) but he resisted, the other parts of his emotions shining through. Those emotions consisted of happiness both for and with Gaara, along with his amusement. Another smaller emotion was complete and utter turn-on from the redhead's dancing, almost like falling in love all over again.

He grinned as the DJ handed him a second microphone, and he stepped onto the stage to sing alongside Gaara. He mentally told Gaara that he'd sing the first verse, so when the opening music dimmed down for the lyrics, he swallowed hard, no longer nervous now that Gaara was there, and sang:

"Look into my eyes - you will see  
What you mean to me  
Search your heart - search your soul  
And when you find me there you'll search no more  
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you."

He gave a wink to Gaara, one concealed by the low lighting and sideways turn from the crowd. _You picked the perfect duet, actually. It's true__, every word of it__… _he thinks softly, awaiting the Kazekage's portion of the song. As soon as he sang it, the next portion Naruto knew they'd be singing together in harmony, a moment he would try and savor when it came. And then perhaps in the verse after, they would switch off between lines, and maybe sing the final part together again… The blonde couldn't help but begin to inwardly glow, the light inside him seeping out through his smile.

Gaara started strutting the stage, as if preaching to the audience; his words filled the room.

"Look into your heart you will find  
There's nothing there to hide  
Take me as I am, take my life  
I would give it all, I would sacrifice  
Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for  
I can't help it, there's nothing I want more  
You know it's true  
Everything I do, I do it for you."

Gaara winked, causing a girl to swoon in front of him, and shrugged as if to say, 'I can't help it that I'm hot.' His nonchalant facade was hiding an expanse of emotions; his own happy feelings, and that of Naruto. Gaara decided that he'd sing one more time before he left the stage for the night, and let the blonde know via their ever-useful link, even though this song wasn't over yet. _It'll be a... surprise, _Gaara thought, smiling. _Trust me, kare; you'll enjoy it, that's for sure._

Naruto was inwardly swooning like all the others in the crowd, though he didn't show it. He knew Gaara would feel it, however…

He sent a quizzical look to the redhead, puzzled over what that 'surprise' could be. He shrugged it away, however, when the next verse came. Deciding to take Gaara's lead and be flashier with his performance, the blonde walked about in time with the music, jerking his hips a couple times with attitude. He wasn't trying to outdo Gaara, though his naturally competitive nature was begging him to do so.

He came around to Gaara's other side, singing with the other:

"There's no love - like your love  
And no other - could give more love  
There's nowhere - unless you're there  
All the time - all the way…"

Gaara grinned and resisted the urge to do something romantic onstage. Dancing slightly suggestively now, Gaara kept in step with Naruto as the verse they would sing together came around.

"Look into your heart baby  
Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth fighting for  
I can't help it, there's nothing I want more  
Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you, Yeah I'd die for you  
You know it's true  
Everything I do, Ohhh, I do it for you."

As their combined voices were the only sound until the audience started cheering once more, Gaara couldn't afford to say anything aloud. _Heh, good job... _He mentally stuck out his tongue. _But that's nowhere close to how good I'll be in my next act. _

"Finally, we have one more song from our Kazekage! He'll be doing The Bad Touch, by The Bloodhound Gang!"

Gaara nodded his head in time to the beat, listening to the 'old man' part in the beginning.  
"I'd appreciate your input."  
The whispered words were said in a suggestive way, Gaara's smirk enough to turn anyone on as the next part of the song came around.

"Sweat baby sweat baby sex is a Texas drought  
Me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about  
So put your hands down my pants and I'll bet you'll feel nuts  
Yes I'm Siskel, yes I'm Ebert and you're getting two thumbs up  
You've had enough of two-hand touch you want it rough you're out of bounds  
I want you smothered want you covered like my Waffle House hash browns  
Come quicker than FedEx never reach an apex just like Coca-Cola stock you are inclined  
To make me rise an hour early just like Daylight Savings Time

"Do it now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it again now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Gettin' horny now

"Love the kind you clean up with a mop and bucket  
Like the lost catacombs of Egypt only God knows where we stuck it  
Hieroglyphics? Let me be Pacific I wanna be down in your South Seas  
But I got this notion that the motion of your ocean means Small Craft Advisory  
So if I capsize on your thighs high tide, B-5 you sunk my battleship  
Please turn me on I'm Mister Coffee with an automatic drip  
So show me yours I'll show you mine Tool Time you'll Lovett just like Lyle  
And then we'll do it doggy style so we can both watch X-Files

"Do it now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it again now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Gettin' horny now

"You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it again now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it again now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Gettin' horny now."

The words, fast-paced and suggestive (Though not nearly as much so as the redhead's dancing) faded into the silence of awe-struck admirers until the room erupted with more screaming and cheering. Flicking some hair out of his eyes by shaking his head, Gaara flipped the microphone to the announcer, and headed backstage to see what his _kare _thought of his performance.

To say he 'bolted from the stage as fast as lightning' would be an understatement. Naruto was literally there and gone, backstage and in front of Gaara faster than you could sprout a nosebleed (which, if you were in the audience and at all attracted to someone like Gaara, you would've done due to such a display).

While trying to hold back his own nose from bleeding or getting any sort of wood in his pants, Naruto began firing off mental questions at both himself and Gaara. Things like: 'what the hell came over you?' and 'you're just trying to make me hot, aren't you?' and 'how come it sounds less funny and so much more dirty coming out your mouth?' and 'what the fuck is with your dancing?! I didn't know you danced like _that_!'

Oh yes, the blonde was firing off all sorts of questions, all of which centered around the terribly perverted, unexpected show by the highly respected and normally reserved Kazekage. "That's it," Naruto said with a flashing grin, one that was filled with devious thoughts. "I'm taking you home and molesting you **right. now.**"

Gaara smiled softly. "That sounds... _nice_." Gaara let his introverted, reserved mask draw around him once more as he was led into the streets and back into the mansion-like tower that was his home. Taking the lead and showing Naruto the way to his room (The place was like a maze to anyone who didn't live there), Gaara nibbled on the blonde's ear once in a while, licking his neck, to keep him in the mood to 'molest' him. Gaara pushed Naruto onto the bed and stood in front of him.

"Now, what kind of molesting did you have in mind, and who says you'll be able to?" A sexy smirk adorned the redhead's features as he stripped, teasing the blonde by moving painstakingly slowly.

"At this rate, I feel like I'm the one being molested," the blonde grins, trying not to fidget too badly as Gaara casually removed his clothing. Naruto unzipped his jacket and tossed off anything lying underneath. He shrugged off his pants in one fluid motion, sending them cascading down to the floor. "Know what would be the best? If we see who's the best dancer. Know how?" Gaara gives him a look that read, 'I'm betting you'll tell me even if I don't ask how'. The kitsune chuckles and raises a finger while winking. "Lap dance contest. First one to cave in and beg for sex loses."

To prove his point, he reached up and brought the redhead down onto the side of the bed, climbing onto his lap, his thighs framing the other teen's. He leans in, lips barely touching Gaara's collar bone, and he feels his breath come back and hit him in the face.

"Although, music would help. Have anything that's easy to grind to?" he grins wickedly, flashing extra-long canines at the Kazekage.

The Kazekage shook his head. "I didn't know what Karaoke was until you told me. Just because I listen to some songs on the radio doesn't mean I own any music at all." Gaara trailed two pale fingers slowly down Naruto's chest, past his abdomen, and stopping just before he touched a few yellow hairs. Allowing his hand to ghost across one hip and up against a tanned side, Gaara leant forward somewhat and licked Naruto's neck so lightly that it was as if the cool wetness simply appeared there. Breathing on the now-wet part of the blonde's neck, Gaara smirked.

"It takes a _lot_ to make _me_ break... You should know that by now," Gaara whispered into Naruto's ear, his breath hitting the latter's ear harshly, the sound of his voice very similar to the voice he had used at the very beginning of singing The Bad Touch, though that felt an eternity away at the moment.

"'Please turn me _on,_ I'm mister coffee, with an automatic drip,'" He drawled slowly, his smirk growing wider.

Naruto shivered, a delicious tingle running down his spine. "Heh, yeah, but I'm pretty strong too, you know. The only time I beg is for ramen," he jokes. "And fine, you want to play dirty? I have some lyrics for you…" he adds with his I'm-such-a-sly-fox grin.

The kitsune rolls his hips, his nose trailing lines under the other's jaw while his hands play invisible piano keys on the small of Gaara's back.

"I've been denied all the best ultrasex  
I've been denied all the best ultrasex

"I-I tried to consume just like a super faggot  
I got subdued  
How can y'all bring a muthafucka something so good he couldn't say no  
You nailed me hard  
I love 'em when they don't give a motherfucking shit  
I could've been someone instead of landing flat upon my ass  
Take me now, fuck me later  
And sing it to the tune of faggot faggot faggot - oh! (and here he purposely moaned to sound seductive)  
Take me now and fuck me later  
And sing it with that…" he sang as he ran circles around Gaara, changing the lyrics of 'dig me now' to 'take me now', a not-so-subtle way of hinting about what was to come.

Gaara raised an eye, otherwise showing no reaction except to grin.

"Lyrics do nothing for me. But obviously they do something for you," he said.

"Sweat, baby, sweat baby, sex is a Texas drought,  
Me and you do the kind of things only Prince would sing about." The way he sang the words carried the beat all by themselves, and he rested his arms, just a few inches before his wrists, on Naruto's shoulders, his hands hanging behind Naruto's neck. Letting some of his hair fall into his eyes, Gaara blinked slowly and forced himself to blush.

"So put your hands down my pants, and I'll bet you'll feel nuts," he said; though this time the words sounded oh-so-innocent, complimented by the pink hue dusting his otherwise alabaster cheeks.

Naruto chuckles, liking oh-so-much the way Gaara was acting. "If you insist," he remarks slyly, pushing back against Gaara with his shoulders, his mouth lingering hotly by a pale ear as he slipped his calloused hand between the redhead's legs. The blonde hummed a more of the song he had been singing before, all the while fiddling with the addicting-to-touch part of the lower-Gaara.

Hs hand slides up gradually, his fingertips tickling the sensitive space of the redhead's stomach, then coming up to trace circles around his nipples. His other hand was currently holding on (since otherwise he's fall right off the side of the bed) to Gaara's neck, his arm draped loosely around one shoulder.

With his breath still in the 'Kage's ear with his tongue flickering out between every other word, he mutters: "Do you know why I chose the song I did? Because I was thinking of how much I hated Sasuke, and how I wish you would've stolen my first kiss instead of him. And how much he hurt me, even if we were best friends. You're better for me than him, so much better, and I can't think of anyone else but you."

Gaara's eyes widened involuntarily, but he hid that by leaning into Naruto's touch and once more licking the blonde's neck.

"I chose What Is Love, because before you, I didn't know what it was. I was scared of being hurt - my misunderstanding of love, thinking it was being pampered, thinking it was having assassins sent after you - they hurt me. That's what I was living like before you came along and knocked some sense into me. I... _Arigatou gozaimasu_." _Thank you... for saving me_. Since Naruto had gotten him hard using his hands to actually touch him, it was fair that he do something else. Pushing Naruto down onto the bed, Gaara kissed and nipped his way down Naruto's tan skin, letting his breath puff lightly onto the other's length, but not actually touching it.

Naruto was touched by Gaara's words, having the sudden urge to embrace the redhead. That urge soon passed, however, when he was toppled over by said teen and barrages with a million soft and pinching sensations caused by Gaara's lips and teeth. "Guess it's not… a lap dance contest… no m-ORE!" he gasped at the end, his words dying on his tongue as a wave of heat and a churning feeling coursed through his lower half. "Kuso, Gaara, I may be losing…" he grins crookedly, staring down at the other. Playing a 'who can outlast who' sex game might have been a bad idea; he forgot how downright sexy Gaara could be, and how persuasive. And being skilled in cloaking emotions certainly put the game in he redhead's favor. Naruto refused to give up, however.

So, to even the match, he sat up and fluidly snaked his way to behind the Kazekage, his fingers playing a dull melody across chest, shoulder blades, and neck as he purposely bumped his stiffening member against the approximate place of Gaara's entrance, though he didn't stay there long. Soon he was back in front of the other, his eyes darkened with passion as he leaned in to plant a tender kiss on Gaara's lips.

Because, to Naruto, it wasn't all about the lust.

Gaara blinked in surprise at the attention showered at him, but quickly smirked and pushed the blonde down once more, sitting on the blonde's legs, framing the other's thighs with his own and hooking his feet around the blonde's calves. Grinding against his lover slowly and roughly, Gaara grinned and started nipping and kissing the tan body beneath him, his hands sliding down as well, before coming back up to Naruto's lips and claiming them with a soft, loving smile. Slipping his tongue inside the other's mouth, Gaara explored it thoroughly, almost to the point of playing 'tonsil hockey/tennis'. Pulling away briefly, he licked the blonde's jaw. "Damned straight you're losing."

"Says you," he pants, which was an obvious show that he was lying. He can't deny Gaara or the tension building behind that dry grind. A bit of sweat trickled down his sideburns, and Naruto wondered when he became so weak and so easy to gain control over.

Oh yeah. When Gaara stepped into his life. More specifically, when said Sand nin took his virginity the first time around. _Chikushou. _He felt suddenly really ashamed of himself, like he was a spineless sort of man. But that feeling soon melted away, hardly being there to begin with. Naruto realized that with Gaara, it was okay to be that way, since he didn't care. Daresay he liked it, since it gave him a sort of power that wasn't fueled from the death of others but instead the life of another. The squirming, heated, horny life of another, but whatever.

Wanting to do one last show of strength before giving in, the kitsune leans up and wraps his arms around the other, biting down softly on his collar bone and sucking gently at the hollow of his throat between his two collar bones, fingers intermingling with crimson locks. No thoughts or words came to mind. The sole thing that Naruto felt was burning love, craving, and sense of completeness.

"Guess I did lose, 'ttebayo," he murmurs, pulling Gaara down with him as he laid back down. With a lusty moan he whispers, "Take me _now_."

Gaara allowed himself to gasp as the blonde bit him and sucked at a sensitive spot between his collarbones. "Heh, you don't _guess,_ you _know._"

Gaara smirked, and licked the blonde's jaw. "Oh? And why _should_ I?" It was a subtle hint that Naruto would have to work for it, and also partially a joke.

When he won, he liked to _really _win. Enough said.

"That's no fair, Gaara…" the blonde complained, practically twitching. He made a growling noise; it came out sounding like something between frustration, anticipation, seduction, and impatience. The redhead had gotten him plenty excited up in his nether region, and to have no instant gratification pissed off Naruto just a bit.

And so, he got aggressive.

He turned the tables and pinned Gaara beneath him. "Fine, then you're going to suffer, too," the blonde purrs, curling his body into the other's, close enough to kiss and feel body heat but far away enough to give no sense of satisfaction.

Being sneaky, Naruto traces light, ticklish nail lines down milky skin, savoring the feel of it before bending down to kiss and lick his way around belly button and trail of thin public hairs, stopping just long enough to use the same breathing-on-length trick Gaara had done to him. Then, smirking, he lifted a thigh and started at inner knee before working his way down with light pecks of the lips, and a long, drowned-out lick up the crevice between thigh and crotch. If Gaara wasn't shaking from his hold on both thighs and skilled tongue, then he'd never win this battle.

"Don't make me flip you over and repeat the process," Naruto threatens in a deep growl, staring up at cloudy blue-green eyes.

Gaara raised his non-existent eyebrows when Naruto started to get aggressive, and then shuddered softly at the attention. Grinning, he grabbed Naruto's length, and stroked it a bit, rolling onto the blonde's stomach.

"Ne, didn't think you'd get _that _upset," And licked the other's jaw. "'Ttebayo, just for that, if you want to be prepared, you'll have to do it yourself," the redhead drawled, unnaturally thrilled by the blonde's growling, the arousing sound numbing his senses to only pay attention to what the blonde was doing.

Gaara forced the blonde to lay in a position that allowed him a better view of his lover. Grinning, he waited for Naruto to either refuse and miss out, refuse but still go ahead with it, or accept and start sucking on his own fingers and -

Feeling his member stiffen just the tiniest bit more, he put a hand to his throbbing length, stroking it languidly, smirking.

"Wha--? Prepare my…" Naruto starts, his stomach dropping slightly. How was he supposed to do that? It'd be kind of hard to reach, and he might get too tense from attempting to get a better angle. Plus, it felt so much better when Gaara did it… Suddenly he laughed. "And you stole my catch phrase."

He watched as Gaara shrugged, a smirk on his face. From being so fired up with neither one submitting, Naruto noticed that the redhead was trying to relieve himself somewhat, one hand around his member.

Naruto growls again, this time with pure confusion. How should he go about this, now? The blonde sets a dark smile on his lips, his teeth gleaming. "Fine. But next time around, your ass is being chained to a wall." His voice came out still sounding deep and vengeful, that fox-like growl hidden in the layers of his tone.

Then, with a slight frown, Naruto slowly lifted his fingers to his mouth, adding one after the other and coating them with saliva before reaching down, legs split apart and hips facing the ceiling, to try and prepare himself. It was a feat he's never done before, not once having a reason to do such a thing. It felt burning and his muscles clenched, refusing to relax as easily as he would like them to. He felt even a bit silly to be doing this in front of his lover, knowing that his face was probably contorted into all sorts of shapes.

Suddenly he wished he were female. That way he'd have a choice in entrances, and fingering himself would be a lot easier. And less painful.

He grunted, finally able to stick two of his three lubed fingers inside. Gaara seemed to be helping him by spreading his tanned thighs apart, and briefly he smiled. _You better not disappoint me after this humiliation,_ he thinks, tears sprouting in the corners of his eyes as he opens the hole with his third finger, sinking as deep as he can to get used to it.

All the while he felt his erection getting more and more flustered, as if it were going to explode without the much-wanted sex. He ignore it the best that he could, glancing up as Gaara with tired eyes. "Happy now?" he scoffs, his whiskered cheeks flushed and his eyes dimmed with lust. Vaguely he felt his blonde hair cling to his forehead, but he was too intent on feeling all the nerve endings in his body screaming out for Gaara to care.

Pre-cum dribbling from his length, for the sight of his lover preparing himself was quite enjoyable, Gaara licked the tip of Naruto's member. "How could I not be, being around the person that has the sun shining out of their butt all the time?" He said so with hints of dry humor, obviously referring to Naruto's 'sunny' personality. Brushing the hair off of Naruto's forehead, he shifted slightly so that he was up against Naruto's entrance; with a slow, gentle push he buried himself to the hilt in his kare, finding that Naruto was just as tight around him as the first time he had taken the blonde. "Nggh..." A soft moan escaped him while Naruto's muscles clenched around him, and he started thrusting gently; gradually quickening, Gaara leaned down and pressed a needy kiss to his blonde boyfriend; his hand wrapped around the other's length, starting to pump him, keeping in rhythm with his thrusts. _Humiliation, kare? I thought it rather erotic._

At first no thoughts or words registered in Naruto's mind or mouth, save for a growling moan filled with need and satisfaction. Having Kyuubi heal him constantly made him tight like the first time, as Gaara had put it vaguely in the back of his mind. He wanted to think a response to the redhead's 'erotic' comment, yet was unable to as his back arched off the bed, a sort of howl coming from the back of his throat as the young 'Kage jerked him off in time with the heated thrusts. "Rahhh…!"

Two sweet spots being surrounded and hit at once, Naruto felt his eyes close and one of his legs wrap around his lover's thigh, somehow the prolonged sex feeling better than any other time. His hands made fists into the sheets of Gaara's bed, which he noticed felt so much softer than the hospital cot, a lot more soothing than the hot springs water, and easier to lay on than the grass of Konoha's Hokage Head cliff top.

Finally some thoughts were formed, and while he panted and bit back a moan, he thought to Gaara: _Erotic? Ha, maybe for you. Try preparing yourself sometime; it's kind of difficult, and in company it feels like I was caught by a relative in the bathroom when I was masturbating, _and he would roll his eyes if everything wasn't feeling so… scrumptious.

Gaara jammed him extra hard for that remark, and Naruto growled slightly. He looks up at the other. "Okay… okay… I didn't mean that analogy…" he breathes out, a tired smirk on his pink face. "I've never… done it before… dattebayo." He explains. _And it feels better when you do it, _he adds.

But suddenly the whole thing didn't matter as he reclines back, his manhood exploding all over his lower stomach and Gaara's, an action he knew the other didn't mind. It seemed to cool him off some, dulling the extreme heat of the desert and his burning thighs.

_You know what, kare? You look prettiest when you're below me. I get to top next time, _the kitsune thinks mischievously.

The redhead smirked, kissing Naruto and giving a few more thrusts before he, too, came with a loud moan.

_Yeah, sure you do. Just you try,_ he thought, panting slightly as he let himself go almost limp, his head resting on Naruto's chest, a hand almost in a fist before his closed eyes. _Whatever sparked that analogy, anyway?_

Kankurou opened the door to the room somewhat, accidentally catching a glimpse of the two, then forcing himself to look at the floor. "Uh, you guys might want to put soundproofing tags on the walls next time. Some of the guards heard and they were trying to get in here to 'save the Kazekage'." He pulled his head out of the room, closed the door, and muttered 'kuso' just loud enough for Gaara, and thereby Naruto, to hear. "Just like rabbits," he said, and apparently he said it to Temari, because a whack that sounded all too similar to a fan sounded outside.

Naruto didn't answer Gaara's question of the analogy firsthand. Instead he burst out laughing as soon as Kankurou disappeared, partly with embarrassment for being caught and partly from the hilarity of what he had to say (coupled with being hit by Temari for it). He laughed, too, because the blonde fan wilder had said soon after, "Hey, they're not like _you_ or Neji, okay? They're actually _in love_. So let 'em do what they want and don't be critical about it!"

The kitsune continued to laugh for a moment, albeit the laughter became breathless and weary as he closed his eyes. Strong shinobi or not, making love is always tiring. So, with a final shrug to show he didn't know where the analogy came from, Naruto drifted off into sleep, his arms wrapped possessively around Gaara's waist.

Gaara felt the blonde fall asleep beneath him, and smiled at the way the other had wrapped his arms around the redhead's waist. Tenderly removing the blonde's arms, Gaara rose and cleaned them both up, as well as the bed. Finally finished, he curled up next to the blonde with a thin yet opaque blanket covering them with no real purpose other than simply having it there.

He had been amused at hearing that Kankurou and Neji were apparently similar in their physically whore-ish ways, but now that amusement had faded into a content, blissful feeling as he brushed some hair away from the other's eyes, observing his face, taking it all in even though he knew every inch already. Kissing Naruto, the redhead laid his head on the blonde's shoulder and allowed himself to drift off into sleep.

Naruto was a gift.

All Gaara could ever worry about now would be how easily that gift might be taken away...

Or how _he_ might be taken away from Naruto.

xXxXx

When Naruto awoke, he wasn't surprised to find Gaara gone. It seemed the Kazekage was always up before him, on account of practice (since he used to not sleep at all) and business (this was NOT a day off, unlike yesterday). The blonde grinned faintly at the memory of said day, loving how it all had turned out. The karaoke had been extremely enjoyable…especially at the end, for obvious reasons.

The kitsune stretched and yawned, his muscles feeling the pleasant strain as he stuck his legs and arms out. Albeit his ass was a bit sore, he knew it'd be healed by Kyuubi by the end of the day. It was more cramped than anything else, which is an easy fix for the demon.

Stumbling from Gaara's bedroom into the hallway, Naruto used the lavatory before yawning again and coming out into the kitchen. He rubbed one eye and glanced around, wondering where the hell Temari and Kankurou were. He shrugged and made himself a quick bowl of cereal (_they're out of instant ramen,_ he grunts inwardly). He showers and dresses, wondering what to do. Other than stick around to protect Gaara because of his mission, that is.

Gaara was currently in his office, about to head into a meeting with a nearby village about water supplies and other trading necessities. For the most part, he had lifted Suna out of poverty, and helped the village become nearly self-sufficient. Now they needed only a few supplies from other hidden villages, and the jobs in the village had higher wages, which in turn made the general economy go up. Hence the reason Suna even had the recently constructed karaoke club/bar.

As Naruto's thoughts provoked thoughts of his own, causing him to swallow hard and force down a blush, Gaara scowled. _Naru-kun, please try not to think about anything... sexual... for a while. I'm about to head into a meeting, and it wouldn't be very fitting for the Kazekage to be unable to focus and/or stop blushing. Plus, I can easily torture you later by exciting you and leaving you high and dry for the rest of the day. _The threat was obviously seen through as something like a 'boogeyman', a harmless nothing used to frighten a child into acquiesance, though there was a grain of willingness to excite him and just forget about not following through with it present in his thoughts.

Naruto stopped walking for a minute (he had been wandering down some of the 'Kage Tower's halls) to giggle to himself at Gaara's thoughts directed at him. _Heh. Gomen, kare. I won't do it again, _he promises. Then Naruto adds in a flirtatious tone: _Ah, no torture please! I'll be a good boy, I promise! _He clearly saw the 'boogeyman' aspect, though he didn't think a word about how untruthful Gaara's threats were.

_Oi, Gaara, when will all those boring meetings be over, anyway? I don't like being alone, much less without you, _the blonde says in an honest tone of voice, though he could easily turn it into a joke and send the mental image of batting eyelashes and puppy-dog pout. He didn't however. He frowns slightly. _Hmm. Actually, I should probably be in those meetings with you or outside the door or something, 'ttebayo. 'Cause it's my duty to make sure you're safe… _he thinks to the other, playfully hinting. The thought never occurred to him that they could spend too much time together and raise suspicions of the people who didn't know, or even irk Gaara with his constant presence. If he did ever realize something relating to this, he would most likely shrug it away. That was merely the type of person Naruto is.

Almost as if picking up on what Naruto overlooked, Gaara sighed. _Naruto, if we're around each other too much people could think things. Not to say they wouldn't be true, but we aren't ready for Suna to start growing rumors about the Kazekage. Besides, there are plenty of guards outside the door, and I can handle myself, with this at least. I promise the meetings will be over in around an hour, alright? If you like, tell Temari that I said to take you to buy some instant ramen and/or some other treats. If she objects, tell her I said 'or else'. Leave the rest of the threat to her imagination. She'll come up with her own least pleasant threat, and take you. _The thought was accompanied with a small quirk of his lips as he rose from his desk, donned his Kazekage robes, and left the office to enter the meeting room not too far away. "Hello, and I hope you've enjoyed your stay in Suna so far," Gaara began, sweeping his gaze around at the missionaries from nearby villages. Gaara began explaining Suna's water situation after everyone (including himself) had found their seats around the circular table, his clear voice strong and unwavering under the unyielding, distrustful stares of the older missionaries and village leaders.

_Alright, fine… you have a point. So okay, I'll just go to the market with Temari. It sounds like a good enough idea to me. Now to actually find her…_ The blonde sweatdrops at this, not sure where said fan wielder could be. He decided to just roam around and ask anyone who passed by, hoping that one of them might have seen where she went. In the end, when he finally located her, it took a lot of begging to make her come with him.

"Please, please, pretty please, with extra sugar and hyperness on top?!" Naruto pleaded, putting his hands together and batting his eye lashes stupidly.

"No."

"But I can't find my way around Suna or any of the marketplace shops on my own! And what if someone scams me? Gaara would hate it if you let me be scammed!" he adds in a lower tone. "Besides, Gaara said you have to come with me _or else_," he smirked, loving the expression that crossed her face.

Nervously she adjusts one of the four ponytails on her head as she thinks of the possibilities. She shudders, sighs, then says weakly: "Er… fine. I'll escort you around Suna and help you buy what you want. Happy now?"

"Yatta! Yes!" the orange-and-black clad ninja cheers, grabbing hold of the older girl's arm. "Now let's go!"

Temari rolls her teal eyes at Naruto, wondering for a moment why the hell her brother chose such a ditz for his most precious of people. "You better let me lead the way; weren't you just saying how you didn't know your way around?"

"Oh. Right. Heh heh…"

She shakes her head. "Baka."

The eldest Sand Sib took to the streets, winding her way around this alleyway and that, until they came across the main marketplace. There were booths covered in miscellaneous items, topped with canopies to blocks the sun's rays and create some shade, and there were people shouting and grinning everywhere.

"What did you want to buy again?" Temari asks.

"You guys are out of instant ramen. And it doesn't hurt to window shop…" he grins foxily, glad his frog money pouch was stuffed for once. Of 'course, there were no windows, but the expression still held the same value. Dragging Temari along behind him, he waded through the crowed and paused every now and then to look at something, occasionally asking her opinion. Like: "Do you think Gaara would like this?" or: "Does this go with my eyes?" or simply saying, "Hey! Let's get a few of these!"

As a whole, Naruto doesn't like to shop. When Sakura wants to take him, he grumbles the entire time and looks bored. But this time around it was in his favor, and he was feeling bubbly. Yes, 'bubbly' would definitely be how to describe it.

Unfortunately (for himself and Gaara, since they shared thoughts), Temari happened to lead him passed a lingerie booth that was having a sale on the men's portion. A few things – some laced and looking much gayer than Naruto thought possible – caught his eye, one being a black-and-maroon g-string that oddly matched the sort of colors Gaara wore. A bright red blush covers Naruto's face and a nosebleed dares to spill as he pictures said redhead in said clothing item. He turns away quickly and pulls Temari along, pinching his nose and willing the thoughts away with instant ramen in mind, which was the original task.

"What's that all about?" Temari tries to ask, a smirk on her face and a suspicious eyebrow raised.

"N-nothing, just nothing…" he mutters quickly. Suddenly, Naruto is pointing. "Look! Ramen at 12:00!"

Luckily for Gaara, by the time Naruto had glimpsed the male lingerie, most of the others had left the room and the meeting was over. Turning his head from the other occupants, who were filing out, he pinched the bridge of his nose and he had to swallow several times to force down the blush and impending erection. _Kami, Naruto! _His thoughts clearly sent the blonde his 'I'm very annoyed with you' message. Finally alone in the room except for a single guard that softly told him that it was time to go before backing off to stand against a wall, Gaara sighed. The meeting had been slightly stressful; it could have gone more smoothly, but aside from a few rough spots, the trades were up and running. Suddenly the air felt humid, thick and oppressing, and he started to turn around as the 'guard' pulled out a summoning scroll and pressed it against the redhead's skin. Eyes wide as a pale hand reached up to try and pull it off, the guard left via a nearby window. Suddenly, the scroll activated and pain began.

Screaming in agony as the so-called guard's plan went into action, surrounded by whirling sand that began to build up around him, Gaara fell off his chair as guards outside reacted, unable to do anything but watch as their Kazekage's legs curled inward into the fetal position, his arms coming in towards himself as well, the pain ripping through him more than he could handle. Perspiration started pouring off him, his mind trying to block out everything so that Naruto wouldn't be as hurt as he was, praying that the blonde could make it to him. His mind told him that no one, not even his kare, could get past the sand, but he didn't care.

Just when it was starting to ease, the pain slowing, he head an ominous thought in his head, one which caused even more agony.

'**Hello, child. Remember me?'**

Shukaku, the dreaded Tanuki that had haunted Gaara for thirteen years, had returned.  
And he was more powerful than ever.

Not even caring that Temari was near him or that he had dropped his shopping bags, Naruto screamed Gaara's name and went sprinting off towards the Kazekage Tower, which was easily visible once he had propelled himself onto a rooftop. In Gaara's mind's eye, Naruto had seen that guard who forced the summoning scroll upon him, and it was no guard at all, but the ominous bastard that had been plaguing Gaara since he first stepped foot into Konoha all those months or weeks or whatever it was ago. Naruto's brain couldn't even think of the proper time slot, it was so jumbled with ghostly agony and fear. His stomach lurched and he bit back vomiting as he heard Shukaku's voice in Gaara's head.

'**Well that's not good, kit; looks like my old pal the one-tailed desert rat is back,' **Kyuubi muttered irritably.

_Fuck! _Was Naruto's only reply as he bared his teeth and charged forward, jumping in through a window of the council meeting room where Gaara currently resided in a shaky fetal position. Sand whirled around at higher speeds than it had at the hospital, and at a much greater amount. It was like a miniature desert within the walls, and people were screaming and fleeing the scene. As the Tower slowly emptied, Naruto grit his teeth and attempted to break his way through Gaara's sand to reach him. How had Sasuke gotten through that globe of sand during the Chunnin exams? He had used Chidori, right? Naruto didn't have Chidori, but he had something better: the Rasengan.

Thinking quickly and summoning a shadow clone, a second Naruto spun a ball of sharp air into the real Naruto's awaiting hand. With one explosion-like burst, the blonde carved a temporary hole that lead to his red-haired love. He leapt through it before the sand closed in on him again.

He grabbed a hold of Gaara's shoulders and pulled him close. "I'm here now…" he muttered over the roar of sand and cries of pain. Due to their connection, Naruto shook with similar pain, but it was nothing he couldn't handle; after all, he's gone into a four-tailed demon fox rage before, something that shred his skin from his body and mixed blood with chakra; if he could handle that, he could handle anything.

The sole thing he could not handle, however, was the potential disasters that could occur from having a demon put back into a post-Jinchuuriki, and _why_.

Regardless of Naruto's presence, Gaara couldn't stop screaming out, continuing to do so until his throat was too hoarse to create a noise; even then the redhead screamed silently, finally stopping when he passed out in the blonde's arms.

His face did not relax into a peaceful expression, like most people would have theirs do; it was clear that his nightmares were plaguing him as well. Shukaku tapped into the connection between the Kyuubi, Naruto, and Gaara, but spoke only to the fox.

'**Hello. Kyuubi, would you be able to tell me why I'm being put back in this kid?**' His thoughts were clearly weak, for the moment, as the process of being re-sealed into Gaara was just a _bit _taxing. The redhead whimpered softly, beginning to thrash shortly after the Tanuki had spoken to the demon fox. Since he was unconscious, the sand had started to slow, and now it finally fell to the ground. The tag on the back of his neck, however, was stuck to his neck, clearly merging with the skin around it, but it was observed to be temporary.

'**I'm not sure I can say, Shukaku. Looks like to me someone has it out for my kit's mate. I'd say, if anything, you won't be in there long. Something tells me things are about to head even farther south than they already are,' **the fox speaks grimly.

_What? _Naruto tries to ask as unwanted tears well up in his eyes and stream down his whiskered cheeks as he held onto the unconscious redhead.

In his head behind the bars of the seal, Kyuubi shrugs. **'Not sure how to explain it, Naruto; but we demons have a sort of intuition – well, some of us, anyway – and mine tells me you're in for a shitload of trouble. Great, just what me and Shukaku need: more human issues.' **He rolls his red orbs, grunting to himself about something else at the end.

But Naruto was slowly blocking out the voices he heard in his mind and concentrated on the sounds and scents around him. The teme who did this was still in the vicinity, although a ways off, watching. Waiting to strike again, most likely. Naruto scowled and tightened his grip a bit on Gaara. He did not like the look of things…

Temari, paired with Kankurou and strangely Baki, came bursting into the room, which was littered with sand. "What happened?!" they all demanded at nearly the same time.

"Shukaku's back," was all the blonde could say.

Gaara trembled and turned toward Naruto the tiniest bit. '**Kuso, I do hate human troubles. However, it is nice to see Gaara again. You said someone has something against my Gaara? We'll soon teach them a lesson, right, Gaara?'** It seemed that the Tanuki was... crooning?... to the redhead softly, and a mother-hen attitude appeared in the Tanuki. '**The one doing all this, he wouldn't happen to be a fellow with green hair, would he?'** Already knowing what the answer would be, Shukaku made Gaara's body sit up and stand, and when the redhead's eyes opened, they were black with sandy-gold diamonds in them.

"**Where's the green-haired sonuvabitch**?" Shukaku growled, cracking his - Gaara's - neck eerily. Turning toward the window, sniffing the air, he jumped towards it and landed on the sill. Perched there with an unnatural balance, sand flowed towards him and started manifesting Shukaku's right arm and ear, as well as the right side of his face. "**Ja, Kyuubi, Kyuubi's brat. When I'm done with him, that bastard's gonna wish he'd never come near my Gaara,**" the Tanuki snarled. Jumping down, creating a considerably loud boom upon impact, he glared at everything and everyone that screamed and backed away as the rest of the demon raccoon's body formed around that of the redhead. Finally seeing the green-haired man standing a few hundred feet away, armed with kunai and explosive tags and several dangerous-looking blades, Shukaku closed the distance between them with a massive leap.

"**You're the one whose parents prayed to me,**" the demon said softly. Bowing it's massive head, Shukaku sighed. "**I apologize that that happened, but it was necessary. Gaara had no part of it, so it really should have been me that you chose to torture. Since Gaara is innocent, truly innocent, you cannot be forgiven. I will slay you for harming my youngling, fool!**"

Naruto stood numbly, Kyuubi coaxing him to follow Shukaku out. The blonde was in a bit of a haze at the moment, and it took Kyuubi's sleek voice to snap him out of it. **'We can't let this get too out of hand, kit,' **the fox warned. **'Plus, I think you'll want to be there when Gaara comes back around after Shukaku's done borrowing his body.'**

_Right._ Naruto nods, yanking out a shuriken blade.

Temari and Kankurou blinked once or twice, wincing slightly after seeing their younger bother's body once again possessed. Baki ordered them to follow Naruto as he leapt through the window, heading for the battle that was about to rage.

_Kyuubi, I may need some of your chakra later, _the blonde informs his demon.

'**Don't worry; for their sake **(in Naruto's mind he nods in Shukaku's/Gaara's direction)**, I'll be glad to. And this time, I won't even bug you about removing the seal.' **

_Arigato, _Naruto thinks idly as he jumps roof to roof, landing as back-up a few meters away. This was mostly Shukaku's fight, he knew, but he wanted to be ready for when his time came to interfere. He would right away if it weren't for the slight glare the Ichibi demon gave him. 'This one's mine', it read. Naruto nodded, and through the connection, told Shukaku: _Yeah, but that body you're using is mine, and I'm going to be here in case Gaara gets hurt. That green-haired teme means business. No matter what you say, I don't think he's willing to forgive Gaara. _

A terrible shudder of dread quaked down Naruto's spine, and he grit his teeth, lowering himself into a crouch as the two Sand Siblings and Baki came up behind him. He was loaded like a spring and ready to launch into a pounce at any tiny he needed. If worse came to worse, at least Naruto could be fast to react.

Shukaku swept a giant, clawed hand at the green-haired man; sneering, he bent back like a limbo dancer to dodge it easily.

"My name, _beast,_ is not fool. It is Terran."

With a cruel laugh, Shukaku smirked. "**So close to the word Terror. And that is all you'll be able to feel when you realize fighting me is useless**."

Again lashing out with an arm, this time Shukaku found that 'Terran' wasn't fast enough, and scraped skin off of the other's stomach with sharp, merciless claws. Following it up with a lunge that smacked Terran's weapons out of his hands, Shukaku smiled. "**Look at that, you're getting beaten by a raccoon**." A spin, causing his spiked tail to slash at Terran's side viciously, and a kick that landed solidly on the villain's chest, and the green-haired boy called Terran mentally agreed to every word just spoken by the demon.

An arm suddenly shooting out, claws closing tightly around Terran's midsection, Shukaku licked the boy's face roughly. "**Hmm. A bit bland, but still edible**." Throwing the boy up in the air at least thirty feet, Shukaku caught Terran in his mouth horizontally. His teeth virtually splitting the boy in half, Shukaku shook his head wildly until one half flew away into a nearby building's wall, then spit the other into the dirt. "**Bleargh, that didn't taste so good after all**." Lumbering over to Naruto, the Tanuki stared the blonde in the eye before allowing one last smile. "**Thank you for protecting Gaara as you have so far.**" The sand comprising the demon's body slowly disintegrated, leaving Gaara hanging a few feet in the air for a split second before falling practically into Naruto's lap, panda-like eyes fluttering open even as he landed. _Naruto?_

After such a horrifying display, so different than when Gaara has been possessed during the Chunnin exams, Naruto blinked multiple times, attempting to pull himself out of the daze he was in. He heard his name being mentally called by Gaara, and slowly he looked down at the redhead in his lap. A weak smile covered tan lips as he set the shuriken he had out down and adjusted his position to make the tired Kazekage more comfortable. "Hey. Are you feeling alright, kare?" he whispered, just loud enough for Gaara to hear.

Temari, Kankurou, and Baki on the other hand were shock-still and wide-eyed, practically scared shitless by the demon that had torn their enemy literally limb from limb. They were not so quick to recover, and Temari fell to her knees. "I can't… believe… what just… and how…" she murmured, her sentences fading into one another, no whole thought followed through on.

Kankurou used one of his puppets as a crutch, leaning back against it as he stared fearfully at his younger brother whom had been seconds ago a flesh-tearing demon. It was hard to imagine.

Inside of Naruto, Kyuubi began to laugh. His throaty chuckle shook the cage around him and he told Shukaku through the connection: **'Heh, nice going, Ichibi. That'll teach that bastard who's boss. He ain't coming back to haunt us now!'**

And he had a point. This entire time Terran had been out to kill Gaara and make him suffer. But now… now it was his turn to suffer and die. _Good riddance,_ Naruto thinks sourly.

Shukaku smiled at Kyuubi, as Gaara nodded. "Unbelievably tired, and in the mood to kill Shukaku for taking over so soon, and without permission." Scowling slightly as Shukaku said something quite inappropriate, he rolled his eyes. Turning to look at Temari, Kankurou, and Baki, he grinned softly. "I'm guessing you're just a _bit _thrown off. Grow up and stop acting like you've never seen someone get killed in a horrible way," He stated. He'd done just as bad before. Sitting up slowly, and then standing, Gaara just managed to cover his mouth as he yawned, a soft, high-pitched sound that seemed like it would suit a toddler rather than a Kazekage, yet fit in an odd way. Realizing he was still in his Kazekage robes, which were now more than just slightly dirty, he frowned and turned to Temari. "We'd better get this cleaned up," he said, and not just about the robes.

"Er… right," Temari nods, shaking her head fiercely with closed eyes. She stands and slips her fan into the strap on her back and began snapping everyone from their trance. Gaara was right; they were ninjas and have seen far worse in the past. Most of the shock, it seemed, came from seeing Gaara with his demon again. They thought he'd be rid of the thing forever, and that he'd be normal (or at least what's considered 'normal' for Gaara and the entire ninja-centric world). Apparently, this was only an illusion, and Gaara was once more the vessel for the Tanuki. Beside her, Kankurou sighed. He was thinking the same thing.

Naruto, on the other hand, seemed not to mind or care so long as Gaara was alright. His clothes were dirty and he looked slightly shaken up in the depths of his eyes, but other than that he was back to himself again. It's a miracle. "Oi, after we clean up, I got to go back and get those bags I dropped… if no one stole them, that is." _Because I bought you something, Gaara _Naruto grins, both inwardly and outwardly. Then he's frowning. _Although, after something like that, I don't think it's appropriate for the situation. And no, I didn't buy the g-string if that's what you're thinking the back of your head right now!_ He snaps, making sure that wasn't what Gaara thought when Naruto mentioned that he bought something fro him. It honestly wasn't anything sexual, since Naruto wasn't that perverted… or at least not all the time.

"Here come the reinforcements," Baki grunts with a single roll of the eye, since the other was hidden by that odd curtain. At his words a group of jounnin come hopping by, glancing around for the green-haired threat to the Kazekage. "Show's over, folks; the Kazekage can take care of himself. Go back."

They all seemed to leave in a huff, a bit disappointed they didn't get to fight or have the glory of saving their leader.

Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow, and stumbled when he started walking back towards the Tower. However, instead of being proud, he stopped and latched onto Naruto, allowing the blonde to help him. Clearly over-exhausted, the redhead smiled wanly at Naruto's comments. _Never said I thought it would be. Ne, what kind of surprise? It better not be anything that requires a lot of work, especially not paperwork._ With another small yawn, Gaara kept in step with Naruto until they reached the space where the blonde had dropped his bags, and they were still there, miraculously. A dark-haired girl that Gaara recognized as Matsuri waved. "Hi Gaara-kun! I heard that blonde guy call your name and saw him drop his bags, so I watched over them for you!"

With a broad smile, she ran over and bowed to Gaara. "It's nice to see you again," She said in a softer tone. "I was wondering if you could take the time to train me sometime? That is, if you're not too busy, being Kazekage and all…"

Gaara nodded slightly. "I'll see if I can make time for you in the next few weeks," He replied. She smiled in a way that said she wouldn't be upset if he didn't manage, bowed again, and left with a 'Bye then, Gaara-kun', subtly watching Naruto as she left.

_You'll see what kind soon… _He winks, but suddenly is cut off by a bouncing Matsuri. He appreciated the fact that she had saved his bags (especially since Gaara's little gift was inside), but slowly grew annoyed, his eye twitching. Naruto kept it from his face as best he could, but he didn't like how overly friendly Matsuri was being. Briefly he remembered how she and some other girl had pushed him aside and away from Gaara after said redhead had 'woken up' after the whole Deidara thing. He knew Gaara could feel his twinge of jealousy, and so to hide it he shoves his tanned fingers into one of the bags and yanks out an object. "Ah, here it is!" From the deep bag Naruto pulled out an oddly-shaped roll of paper, which he stripped part of the way before blushing. "Er… don't think this is too weird, okay? I just saw the booth with a tag that read off what all of them mean, and thought I might… you know… and Temari helped, so…" The blonde finished revealing the paper-wrapped package to show a bouquet of desert roses, all different colors but all thornless.

There were five shades of red for romance, courage, respect, beauty, and passion; a white one hinting about their eventual marriage; a pink one for admiration and to say 'please believe me when I say I love you'; two yellow ones for their friendship and a promise for a new beginning; a coral one for desire; and a hidden black one to signify that Naruto would die for Gaara. All of these were long-stemmed to show how long they would last, and each was heartfelt even if they were embarrassing for everyone else to see him give.

Temari beamed, wondering when Naruto was going to give those to Gaara. She just hoped the roses would last long enough. Then again, most of the Kazekage building was air-conditioned, so the roses shouldn't die from heat too soon.

Patiently, Naruto waited for Gaara's reaction to the bouquet, though at the moment there was only surprise at the gesture.

Gaara took the roses wordlessly, passed them to Temari so she could put them in some water, and made his way to his room, taking hold of Naruto's hand to drag him along. When they were alone, the redhead enveloped his lover in a sudden, gentle hug. "Thank you," He murmured, and he didn't let go for quite a few moments. When he did, however, he simply activated some soundproofing tags on the door and walls. The next thing he did?

Plunging his hand down into Naruto's pants, his lips crashing into Naruto's, he felt his eyes start to well up with a few unshed tears. Such a gesture was so touching for Gaara; such a heartfelt message was strange, for he had never imagined that something so simple, like a few flowers, could mean so much. Gaara really only knew one way to return the gesture, and so he kicked off his pants and pulled off his shirt, nibbling and kissing his way from Naruto's neck to his lips. Starting another passionate kiss, Gaara blinked away the urge to cry those few tears of joy and instead remembered how Naruto had wanted to top the next time they had sex.

Well, what he wanted, he would get, ne?

The starting embrace was warm and comforting, and Naruto gladly returned it with a charming, soft smile and closed eyes. He was surprised for a moment when Gaara did what he had next, being to soundproof the room. Was he about to…?

Before the blonde could even finish the thought it happened, an electrifying reach down the pants and a crushing kiss that Naruto couldn't interpret the meaning of. It was strange, because Naruto swore he felt a tearing-like emotion come over Gaara through their connection, though he didn't dwell on it too long or ask. Instead, he sat back and relaxed some, now that Gaara was stripping himself and kissing at him. The real threat was gone now like a bad dream, and all there was left is the redheaded re-Jinchuuriki in front of him.

Taking the initiative, Naruto attempted to peel off his own clothing while Gaara – almost hungrily – enveloped his tanned lips in a kiss. _Gaara, are you sure…? _he tried to ask. _I mean, a lot happened today… _

Apparently, Gaara wasn't caring. So, Naruto didn't either. It was a quick decision he made, seeing as how one of his favorite things about Gaara was how he tasted. Deepening their kiss as much as he could, Naruto somewhat distracted his kare as he rolled them over gently, placing one hand on the sheets to balance him and the other sliding down the redhead's bare sides. For some reason, the kitsune felt compelled to say once more: "Aishiteru."

Gaara shivered slightly as Naruto touched him. "I know you do, and I love you too; And yes, I'm sure." He said, and smiled slightly. "Remember how you said you wanted to be seme?" He winked and put his hand against Naruto's chest, trailing it down the tanned skin. "Take control, then. Tell me what to do and I'll do it, just like any regular uke," He continued. "Sound fun?" Letting his hand drop away from the other just before it reached the trail of yellow hairs before the desired yet 'forbidden' fruit that he knew would soon be thrusting in and out and –

Blushing slightly as he pulled himself out of his imagination, Gaara gave the other a kiss on the nose, smiling. Letting himself relax, he looked into Naruto's eyes, feeling a deep connection yet again. It seemed that even now, every time he looked in Naruto's eyes he felt a spark of electricity flow through him, and he enjoyed it immensely.

"What do you want me to do first?" He asked innocently.

Naruto smiled down at Gaara, leaning in to press his lips against the hollow of a pale throat while he ran ideas through his head, ones Gaara was probably watching as well. One of those random thoughts involved somewhat kinky things, like drizzling something sweet over the already deliciously milky skin and licking it away or attempting a 69 move since Naruto liked it so much when Gaara took him in his mouth that very first time all those weeks ago. But at the moment, in that very second, he just loved how the sand wielder looked beneath him, magenta coating his face and tiny beads of salty sweat beginning to form from the desert heat which was leaking in from outside. To Naruto, Gaara's crimson locks spilled out onto the pillow and perfect angle of being above him to see the dips and bumps of his ai-labeled forehead was a beautiful sight to see. Gently he brushes the stray hairs from around the other boy's forehead.

"Well, to start off with, you can tell me if you like either of those ideas that popped into my head…" Naruto grins mischievously. "Or maybe we could just do both. I just hope Temari doesn't get suspicious when she sees the missing sweet stuff from the kitchen."

The redhead gasped as Naruto kissed his throat, and tilted his head up ever so slightly to allow more access to his neck, a place that felt uncomfortably vulnerable yet so delicious when touched.

"Both," Gaara decided, allowing his sand to open the door slightly, close it, retrieve chocolate mousse from the kitchen, open the door again, close said door, and lay it on his chest.

Smiling, the redhead opened the bottle and squirted some on Naruto's cheek, licking it off innocently.

"Oi, that's my job, dattebayo..." Naruto tells Gaara with a playful growl. He takes the bottle into his hands and dumps a bit off the cool chocolate mixture onto Gaara's chest, scooting his position over the other down so that his thighs rested on either side of the redhead's knees. He leans up, licking a trail from between Gaara's pecks to the hollow at the base of his throat between his collar bones, sucking up the chocolate and soft spot in the Kazekage's skin. The kitsune then turns his head to twirl a pink tongue around a lightly pink nipple, sucking his way around said area to lap up all the chocolate that currently sat there. "Mmm," Naruto hummed, his lips sticking slightly to Gaara's skin as he lifts them slowly and moving over to the remainder of the 'Kage's chest.

Gaara allowed a guttural moan to escape him as Naruto licked the chocolate off him. The abrupt change from hot to cool to warm excited him, and the way Naruto touched the sensitive skin at his throat and collarbone made him nearly arch off the bed, suddenly painfully aroused. A thought flitted across his mind; _what if he decided to get me riled up and make me wait to the point of caving in and begging without letting anything touch me down there?_ He thought, before he could suppress the thought. Realizing the mischievous blonde could very well do that.

His ears still straining to catch another growl, as when the blonde uttered them it excited the redhead in a feral, primitive way, Gaara snarled playfully, trying to encourage the blonde to do it again.

Shukaku, unknown to either of the two boys, was currently trying not to have a massive nosebleed. '**Hey, Kyuubi?**' Reaching across the mental link so that he was present in Naruto's mind, he softly banged his head against a wall. '**Do they do this often? Because if so, I'm going to need therapy after this',** he said, absent-mindedly stroking the fox demon _just_ where the nine tails sprouted from the fox.

'**Don't do that,' **Kyuubi hissed. **'Just because our vessels are getting fresh doesn't mean you get to touch me, Ichibi.' **He pauses, recoiling back in the slightest to the recesses of his cage. **'But, in response to your question, they do this somewhat often. I believe this is their… fourth time? Maybe fifth? I've just come to ignore it, really. Usually I sleep while they're going at it. I hardly blame them, however; my kit was deprived a lot of things, especially having any sort of loving contact. So just leave them be.'**

In the meantime, Naruto picked up on Gaara's reaction to his fox-like growling, and proceeded to look up into lusty teal eyes and growl from the lowest part of his throat, even adding effect with a nip or two down Gaara's navel. And it was then, he realized, he could do plenty of payback; arousing the redhead with no satisfaction like he had done just the other night. Yes, he realized he could make Gaara beg on his knees quite literally to screw him, but Naruto was not cruel.

Finishing off the last of the chocolate on the redhead's now sticky skin, Naruto distracted him with a closed-eyed, hungry kiss on the lower lip as he adjusted his weight and parted pale legs a bit. He ran his calloused fingertips down the back of Gaara's thigh, his nails lightly scratching in a tickling manner at the base near Gaara's left cheek.

_I won't rile you up with dry touches too long, so don't worry about it, _the blonde reassures.

Gaara frowned when the blonde 'assured' him. _Really? Drat,_ he replied. _And here I thought you were going to dominate me._ Shukaku laughed at that comment, and turned his attention back to Kyuubi, his expression not nearly so jovial. '**Sorry',** he said with a somewhat forced smile, and disappeared, going back to Gaara. The redhead managed another moan as Naruto simply growled and nipped him; being dominated was something he'd missed out on, because no one was ready to even look him in the eye until now.

Forgetting his disappointment, he nipped the blonde's neck, relishing the idea that the other might change his mind and leave him high and dry unless he begged. Domination? No, Gaara preferred to call it 'sex'. As long as it was him and Naruto, after all, it didn't really matter who did what. Well, he would prefer this or that depending on his mood, but you get the idea.

_Who said I wasn't going to dominate you? I have other methods than making you beg. But now you're kind of making me curious: what does the great Kazekage, the undefeatable Gaara, look like when he's begging to be made love to? _The kitsune mentally purrs, leaning off of Gaara to flip him over, propping him up on his knees. The redhead glances back at him with a tiny frown, a wordless question of 'what are you doing?' or 'giving into me that quickly, eh?' but neither was the case. No, instead, Naruto reaches with a smirk to the bottle of chocolate mousse, drips the cool, sweet cream on the back of a very sensitive bulge, and leans in, about to take a lick. Clearly it was a pretty kinky thing to do, but the blonde hardly cared; it's not like he could see himself doing something like this with anyone else. He agreed with those vague thoughts drifting through Gaara's mind: as long as it was only the two Jinchuuriki together, the fun was limitless.

After hearing a noise come from Gaara that sounded a bit strange yet sexy, Naruto continued what he started and flicked out his tongue and slowly let it wipe the sweet (although slightly salty from Gaara's skin) chocolate from the back of Gaara's thighs and sensitive package of skin. At the 'Kage's reaction Naruto smirked again and felt his length twitch. No wonder Gaara liked prolonging things the other day; it was terribly fun and very addicting.

Gaara shuddered as Naruto licked the mousse off, a cross between a playful snarl and a moan coming out of him as he reacted all at once to everything the blonde had done/thought. _I'm wondering that too,_ the redhead replied. He grinned as he remembered the glimpse of the G-sting that Naruto had seen, and imagined a similar one that was orange and black, then imagined it on Naruto, tight and leaving nothing to the imagination... At the same time, he imagined himself in the burgundy/grey G-string Naruto had actually seen, and mentally chuckled.

His sand opened a CD player that he'd recently bought, and slipped in a Metro Station CD, a song suddenly beginning to play, namely Shake It. _Closest to mood music I could find,_ the redhead said, smiling. Shuddering as the blonde finished eating the sweet mousse off of him, Gaara thrust his hips outward, towards Naruto, winking. "C'mon, let's see if you can_ make me beg,_" the redhead whispered seductively. Kami only knew what he was getting himself into.

Shukaku, alone in Gaara's mind, didn't interfere - for once. He curled up in a ball, his tail covering his nose, his eyes closed. Kyuubi seemed to have forgotten that his vessel had been alone, too. And the two humans weren't the only ones that had often been treated like dirt by their own kind.

Naruto swallowed the blush Gaara made him make at his own self in a g-string, and the result was burning ears and even more of a desire to get Gaara to beg. He asked for it now, dammit.

_You know, I'm thinking a 69 is too good for you. Ukes usually play top for that one, and I think you'd get too much pleasure from that move. Ha, no, I'm doing it your way and torturing you. Maybe then I'll make you do something awkward and embarrassing like preparing yourself. I still don't see how erotic it can be since I'm the one who was forced to do it, _Naruto mentally purrs as he leans up against Gaara's back, their legs touching and his chest touching the other, but nothing else. Well, other than the breathing and nibbling and sucking on the back of Gaara's neck and ears and junction between shoulder and neck. Steadily he rolled Gaara back over, wetly kissing the underside of his jaw. In sync with the music he locked the redhead's legs together and grinded against him, barely touching, only hinting about what his hips could do.

Meanwhile, Kyuubi rolled his eyes and muttered something to himself grumpily, trying to both block out the pre-sex sensations flowing through his blonde container and the odd feelings emitting from the other demon. He would never admit it, being the slightly prideful fox he is, but Kyuubi hadn't meant to snap at the 'coon; he was just a bit sore that the other had gotten out of his human cage and into… well, maybe not the bright beautiful word, but at least somewhere else. Not to say Kyuubi didn't like Naruto; he simply longer for a stretch of freedom once more. _**'Tch, but you sure are getting a bunch of freedom, eh, kit? You're on a mission and should be working, but I suppose work and play merged together for you since you're supposed to be "protecting" your mate. Heh. He couldn't be in safer hands… or legs,' **_the fox demon thinks to himself with an amused grin.

Gaara moaned at the wet kisses, and then inhaled sharply as Naruto ground against him but without much contact. He stared into Naruto's eyes, a small smirk adorning his lips. Just to try and piss the blonde off, he wriggled and managed to force his legs apart, grinning.

Sticking out his tongue, he moved forward slightly to kiss the other's lips. _You'd have to tie me up to do it properly, _he thought, then promptly smacked his hand against his forehead, grinning sheepishly at Naruto. "Why do I keep giving you ideas?"

Shukaku smiled at Kyuubi, even though the other wouldn't see it. '**You know, you can probably get yourself over here. I managed to come to you, and I'm pretty sure that it's not a one-way deal. Though I'm not sure this place is as good as yours. You get to stay in dark and damp. I'm a raccoon, and I have to be in eternal sun and sand.'** He said the part about the Suna-like decoration he resided in grumpily yet playfully.

"Tie you up?" Naruto frowns, although there's a ghost of a smile in his voice and eyes. "I was kidding last time when I said that your ass was getting chained to a wall." He shakes his head, some of the yellow locks tickling Gaara's chest. "'Sides, bondage sounds like something you'd do with your sand or something Sasuke would do since he's a sadistic bastard. I'm not like that," he tells Gaara in all honesty. H leans in close, lowering his voice to nearly a whisper right on Gaara's ear as nails lightly rake down the side of the redhead's navel before grazing a thin line of pubic hairs. "But I could do something else," he says sexily.

Being a little rough and hoping the 'Kage didn't mind it, he threw himself at him, lacing their fingers together and pinning down his hands high above their heads while simultaneously locking his legs even tighter together, a sort of personal bondage that still left him able to move if he struggled enough and really wanted to escape. But it's take a lot to break the Leaf nin's grip. _I still think a 69 would be more fun, but you just had to go and fire me up to prove I can dominate you,_ he reprimands mentally. Naruto flashed a grin. _You're good at giving bad ideas. Hmm, I wonder how you lead a nation, then? _The blonde teases.

Now that their limbs were mangled together and Naruto was hovering above a very tempting-looking Gaara, the only part of him that could move was his hips, spine, and neck. And because of this, the redhead was treated to the strangest and most heated dance of bumping touches, panting, and tiny moans and growls. The sliding of skin was very addicting, though inwardly Naruto ached for more. He wasn't very good at this; it was torturing him, too. Gaara looked so ready to be pounded into, as vulgar as that sounded. Still, Naruto wasn't about to give up, as sweet as those crushing moments of their two lengths during the grinding or the feel of the redhead's nipple in his mouth was.

Being sneaky, Naruto slid himself upwards along his kare's abdomen, continuing to trap his legs with his feet and hands with his own hands, but in the proper position to be taken into Gaara's mouth. _Suck or I'm never letting go, _he growled mentally, not able to stand his own torture much longer. Gaara said he'd play uke; well, ukes obey, right? So he had to else Naruto would never give him any satisfaction. It was a sick, erotic game they were playing, but when it comes to two very strong-willed people, it was the only way.

In the meantime, Kyuubi snorted at Shukaku. **'It was easy for you because you don't have the extra seal like I do. I'm practically caged. Although it doesn't hurt to try… after all, the way I bound these two, it's like Gaara's body's half mine to travel to like Naruto's is now half yours to travel to.' **The fox shrugs, twitching his nine tails. Gingery, as if he were afraid the bars would shock him, he moves in between them to the "hallway" in Naruto's inner mind. He was surprised when the bars passed right through him like water vapor and allowed him to move across to Gaara. Although, once he was near the other demon, he noticed a piece of paper hanging above and between his eyes. **'Oh, great. The seal is still there. When I walked through the bars it must have pressed itself to me,' **he grunts irritably and shakes his great head. It didn't come off. **'Chikushou.' **

Gaara was getting flushed by the time Naruto had gotten his next idea of making Gaara obey him. Slowly, Gaara stuck out his tongue and swirled it around the tip of Naruto's length, eyeing the other as he did so. Letting his lips close over the blonde's throbbing head, he licked the vein on the underside of the blonde's erection, smirking as he slowly took the rest of the blonde into his mouth.

Swallowing to massage the other, Gaara bobbed his head a bit, sucking a bit harshly, occasionally pulling back for air, nipping the other gently as he did so. After he lathered, rinsed, and repeated a few times, he stopped, smirking innocently.

_I suck, you have to do something a few letters away. Oh, and I run villages very well. Sex games, now that's a different story._

A smirk told Naruto that the redhead hadn't given up yet, and also that Gaara wasn't about to do much more in the way of sucking.

Naruto's whiskered face immediately deepened to a richer red and he gasped before letting out a long, low moan as his senses tingled. His eyes closed and his head tipped back lustily. Gaara pleasuring him like this was probably one of his favorite things… besides the cleaner actions in life like eating ramen. But ramen – as yummy as it is – doesn't compare to the 'yummy-ness' of this.

When his kare stopped, he leaned back, his forehead against Gaara's, their sweat sticking them together. _'A few letters away', eh? Is that the Kazekage's way of asking to be 'fucked'? _Naruto purred mischievously, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. _If so, I'd be happy to oblige _Suddenly he frowned when he saw Gaara's smirk, and realized that the redhead wasn't giving in quite yet. _Dammit. You had me for a minute there. But I think I know what to do… _

The kitsune makes a growling noise again, still pinning his lover down, and attacks Gaara's sides with the rub of his thighs. He dips his head down and softly bites down on a pale collar bone, lolling his tongue down the line of skin over hard bone. He leaves a sharp kiss at the end by Gaara's shoulder before nuzzling his nose into his neck. He leaves a trail of saliva down the front of the redhead's throat, pausing to suck gently on his Adam's apple.

Gaara shuddered as Naruto applied friction akin to being tickled to his sides, and then gasped as the blonde bit his collarbone. A small growl rumbled from his throat, but halted as soon as warm lips closed around his Adam's apple, replaced with a lusty moan.

"S-stop, that tickles," He managed, however unable he was to mask the lust he felt, and the way the attention truly felt. The arousing sensations traveled straight to his erection, which twitched as his own voice caused Naruto's lips to rub against his throat pleasingly.

"I can feel that you like that," Naruto smirks triumphantly and he gets a satisfying shudder, growl, and moan from the teen below him. "So I won't stop."

He knew that his lips and breath were beating down warmly on the other's neck as he whispered this. Being crafty, Naruto tilted his head to the lower right side of Gaara's neck just above his collar bone and didn't blow a raspberry but buzzed his lips to tickle the other. He paused a moment to adjust his position, his legs again trailing down Gaara's sides as he stretched himself out to move easier about Gaara's apparently sensitive jaw and neckline. He found a good spot near the off-center front and sucked so hard he probably left a hickey, but that's okay because Gaara's clothes would definitely cover it up. From there he skimmed Gaara's warm skin with the tip of his tongue, relishing in the salty-sweet, slightly sandy taste. How come Gaara tasted so _good?_

Naruto kissed and nipped a few times on the underside of Gaara's jaw, while at the same time licked at his throat. Why hadn't he seen earlier how much Gaara liked this? Looking back on it, the blonde realized the redhead had been subtly reclining his head to give the blonde more access, but he had been so wrapped up in other things that he neglected to notice. Next time they made out, Naruto mentally noted to ravish Gaara's neck.

Gaara nearly lost it when Naruto sucked on a spot near his collarbone, a hickey already forming on the pale skin. He moaned again, louder, when Naruto nipped him under his jaw. "Ngh, Na-" He was cut off by a gasp as Naruto started licking his throat.

Deciding that thoughts were easier because his vocal chords were currently busy, he squirmed. _Fine. __**Don't**_ _stop._ He tilted his head back slightly, his nether region giving a more violent twitch this time as the blonde continued to molest the alabaster skin of Gaara's neck and collarbone.

Shukaku stretched out slightly as he finally turned to Kyuubi, smiling slightly. **'It wasn't so hard for you, was it? You're more powerful than me, so obviously you can get over here if I can get to you.'**** T**here seemed to be a hint of wistfulness in his voice, as if the Tanuki longed to be even just a single tail more powerful, just because then he wouldn't be the 'runt', the smallest demon, the easiest to dominate and humiliate.

Presently, Naruto adored the sensations he's creating in Gaara, which he shallowly felt through their magical connection. _Kyuubi, I have to hand it to you, that magic of yours comes in handy! _He felt somewhat strange, like Kyuubi wasn't there but somewhere else, although close by. He couldn't put a finger on it, but it didn't bug him very long because soon he was wreaking more havoc on the upper parts of Gaara, ones he knew liked to be touched and tasted pretty damn good.

The blonde leaned upwards, arching his back to get the right angle on the weak point in Gaara's jaw at the top of his neck and in front of his ear. He wormed his way to the spot, encasing his lips around it and warmly flickering out his tongue. The kitsune seemed intent on kissing, sucking, and nibbling his way to begging on Gaara's behalf. Naruto paused now and then to brush legs against ticklish sides, since his hands were still pinning the other down. "I like those noises you're making," Naruto purrs sexily, his lips murmuring against Gaara's ear. He slides down, nose skimming the redhead's jaw, before he once again sucks on the lump known as the 'Adam's apple'; he couldn't help it, it was such an easy-to-reach, sensitive spot, that either leaves you feeling like you're suffocating or makes you squirm with pleasure. Naruto hoped to create the latter in Gaara.

_I'm not stopping all this licking, kissing, and nibbling until you scream 'Naruto'. I'll be here all evening, covering from your ears to your nipples until I get a reaction. So you see where this is going, Gaara? _The blonde threatens, a smirk on his face. Then he's at it again, biting down with lip-covered teeth (so not to hurt the redhead) on a collar bone and sucking away at random parts of Gaara's throat and sides of his neck, breathing hotly against his skin.

Somewhere within Gaara where the two demons resided, Kyuubi grunts. **'Sounds like to me you have some issues, Shu. Don't think like that… because I know where you were going with that comment. Look, just because I have more tails doesn't mean I'm better than you. Our ranks don't work that way, or have you forgotten?' **He smiles in the slightest way, attempting to reassure the grouchy old 'coon. And he thought he was sore about things…

Gaara had started panting the second Naruto put his lips around the spot in front of his ear, and when the blonde went for his Adam's Apple once again, he couldn't help but moan so loudly it sounded more like a shout. "Nggh!" Little by little, it was clear Gaara's resolve was crumbling, and not a moment later, he found it had disappeared.

"Please!" He whisper-shouted, the urgency and raw, too-long ignored need and desire making his voice harsh and ragged. He got a mischievous look that clearly said 'Please _what_?' in response.

Growling, Gaara squirmed half-heartedly, but tried again anyway. "Please, Naruto!" It was no louder, but the emotions in his voice had definitely intensified. He felt saying 'take me' or 'make me yours' or something was silly, and that he'd just screw it up somehow, so he looked away from the blonde when he decided to at least try it and murmured the former. "Take me," was murmured between frenzied pants, causing a blush to dust pale cheekbones as Gaara's eyes flitting back to Naruto to see the blonde's reaction, hoping he hadn't messed it up somehow.

Naruto loosens his grip on Gaara's hands, replacing his own to the bed sheets for support. "Hmm, I dunno, torturing you is kinda fun…" he starts, but chuckles if not a bit breathlessly. "I'm totally kidding," the blonde says after a pause, laying a tender no-tongue kiss on the Kazekage's lips. His tanned fingers glide down Gaara's chest and sides as he admires the magenta hue on the other's face. Agonizingly slow, Naruto inched himself downward, passing over the overly-aroused part of his lover. He then sits on his legs, putting one of Gaara's own on either side of him, although he pauses and places his hands on his hips with a devilish grin. "But I still don't get what the hell you thought was so erotic about someone preparing themselves. So enlighten me, kare."

Oh, the fox boy thought he was _so_ smart. He gets a bit cocky sometimes, probably too much for his own good. He thought he had Gaara at his mercy. Maybe he shouldn't have released the redhead…

Gaara bristled slightly, upset, and frowned. However, he did do it to Naruto, so he deserved it. Sighing, he sucked on three of his own fingers, and reached down to his entrance. Maneuvering in such a way that it was easier to reach, Gaara stuck a finger inside himself; soon after, he added a second, scissoring them, and then three. After he added a third and smirked as he thrust his fingers repeatedly the way Naruto's length would soon thrust into him. His blush deepened slightly as the sensation gave him a heady feeling and caused him to keep going with his fingers, grinning. If Naruto wanted him, the blonde would have to stop him from thrusting his fingers. He moaned softly, and the sight of pre-cum dribbling from his length should inform Naruto as to how it was 'so erotic'. Maybe Gaara just got off on it, and no one else did, but he found it a good way to tempt Naruto at the moment. His eyes fluttering closed in pleasure, Gaara listened for Naruto's reaction.

**'Our ranks may not work that way, but our strength does. And if you say I'm not weak physically, you'd be wrong, but I'm also weak-willed compared to some of the other Bijuu, and you can't deny that.'** Shukaku drew something in the sand but destroyed the picture by blowing sand on it and messing it up.

Without any sense of warning, Naruto found himself biting down on his own forefinger, which he hadn't even known he raised to his mouth in the first place. The pain helped him, however, to snap out of his horny stupor long enough to admit just how damn erotic someone preparing themselves was if you were watching and not the one doing it. At least, that was Naruto's opinion. At the sight, and once Gaara's eyes closed, the blonde couldn't help but let out a small man of anticipation, a teeny bit of his own come spilling forth.

Suddenly, the blonde couldn't take it anymore; without thinking, his hand jerked forward and he grabbed Gaara's by the wrist and pulled it away, and faster than you could blink he was grabbing hold of the redhead by the pelvis and shoving himself in to the hilt, a loud, hungry moan coming out his throat as he felt the inner walls of his lover come clamping down around him, trying to adjust. Naruto didn't bother to start off very slow; he was too energized for that. So, instead, he ground against Gaara and pulled nearly out and going back in as quick as he could, rhythmatic grunts and panting being the only sounds he was able to make through his lust-driven, fogged mind. He wasn't sure what came over him, but it was all over now and he could enjoy the prolonged love making. And, since he knew how neglected Gaara's manhood had been, his slowed his thrusts enough to grasp and begin churning and massaging said body part.

Elsewhere, Kyuubi was sighing and ever-so-slightly bowing his head. **'You're right, I can't deny that. However, you can't say that I'm the strongest of all the Bijuu, since I'm not. One or two others, despite their lack of my number of tails, are a bit stronger than I am because they've been freer from the humans and have had time to build up their strength. Bet you didn't know that,' **he smirks gently. Suddenly, the fox is chuckling and rolling his eyes. **'There they go, finally getting to the point. And here I thought my kit and yours were going to have this non-winning battle all night.'**

Gaara cried out when Naruto thrust into him, repeating the action without giving the redhead's body time to adjust. The pain and pleasure mixed together, clashing, and pleasure won out when Naruto started to jerk him off in time to his thrusts.

His hips involuntarily bucking so as to meet the blonde's movements, Gaara moaned again and again as the other boy hit the sweet spot inside him repeatedly. A sheen of perspiration appeared on the redhead, glistening attractively on his pale skin. The only sound, besides his panting and moaning, was the sound of damp skin hitting skin as their bodies meshed together passionately.

Shukaku nodded, smirking, glad for the change of subject. **'****Dear Kami, why does Gaara have to be so sensitive? It's getting **_**me**_** horny now.'** It was partially a joke, but mostly truth. The Tanuki laid on his stomach, tail curling around him. **'****Nonetheless, I'm glad they found each other. I'm also glad to be talking to you. Personally, I've found you to be a lot more interesting than the other Bijuu.'**

Naruto quickly apologized to Gaara through their minds for the pain, his lone excuse being how long he had to wait. To make up for it he slowed his thrusts to loving, less-hungry ones. These movements he knew would probably capture every hit, slide, and rub against Gaara's nerve endings, and to match he changed his tactic on how he moved his hands around his lover's member. Oddly, the blonde's mind was going blank with tingling bliss. He shook his head to shake the damp bangs from his eyes and cool the sweat brimming on the back of his neck. There came a time when he wasn't sure what noises he was making or hearing, merely submitted to what was and savored playing seme.

Naruto knew he was about to burst and come full-force inside of Gaara, and he allowed himself to without any holdbacks. Another involuntary moan sprouted from the back of his throat and he grinned half-heartedly, deciding to give his kare an extra pounding before collapsing on top of him, pulling out slowly and cuddling against the other's neck. He heard plenty of panting as they tried to regain the breath in their lungs, and despite the mess he made, the kitsune trialed his fingertips down Gaara's pale navel and inhaled the scent of sweat, sex, and vaguely all the other smells which naturally made up the 'Kage beside him. Yet another session of delicious, sweet romance done with. It seemed to be turning into a habit. And a damn addictive one if that. How long did it last, anyway? Felt like two hours, maybe more, maybe less. You can never tell when you're with the sole person in the world you deeply care about.

With the two demons, however, things were progressing this way:

''**More interesting?' I honestly don't see how, Shu. To me, though, you've always been my only friend. Funny how, after Kami knows how many years, we met again through **_**these two**_**,' **and he gestures upwards, winking a red eye, briefly thinking of how strange and somewhat hateful the two shinobi acted towards one another at first and then gradually warmed up to one another even before Shukaku was (temporarily) removed.

Gaara had felt himself explode the moment Naruto did, if not a second before; the redhead sighed and wrapped his arms around Naruto's shoulders, his dominant nature coming back since he'd finished playing uke for now. Reveling in the euphoria in the glowing aftershocks of his orgasm, Gaara realized that he'd done something different this time. He'd called out Naruto's name when he came. Letting a long, pale finger brush the damp hair from Naruto's forehead, Gaara smiled. Sand rose up to make the A.C., something rarely used, start up. He didn't mind the heat, but Gaara realized that it might be bothersome to Naruto if they were going to go at it so much, like this...

Grinning, he had another thought. "Oi, Naruto," He whispered breathlessly, "Tomorrow I'm having a meeting with the old twits in the council to try and convince them as to why we should allow same-sex marriages."

A knock sounded at the door, Kankurou's voice following. "I'm NOT opening the door, because _Kami_ knows what you're doing in there, but the stacks of paperwork are growing at an alarming rate, Gaara. Save the action for later in the night if you _want_ to be here, not working, tonight."

Gaara sighed, and replied with a resigned 'Alright,' caressing the blonde's hair again before gently slipping out from under him. Gaara's sand, or most of it, stayed in the room. "So I can tell what's going on," he said. Stepping into a room connected to his own via a discreet door, he revealed that it was a master bathroom. Taking a hot shower because it was a waste of energy to make it cold, Gaara stepped back into the room with his hair wet and his towel riding dangerously low on his hips as he walked over to his closet. Pulling his Kazekage robes out of said closet, and underwear out of a dresser drawer, the redhead dried himself before dressing. Giving his lover a tender kiss, Gaara smiled wearily. "Ja, Naruto-kun." Slipping out of the room, Gaara went to the doom that was paperwork, noting as he did so that it was late afternoon, just verging on evening. 3:00pm was typically a time that the villagers enjoyed, because it was a time that the sun's rays were not quite so heated and harsh. Today, though, it was not that way for Gaara, because he'd much rather be with Naruto than doing paperwork.

Shukaku's ears shot up, and he instantly gazed at Kyuubi. **'...Me? Your **_**only**_** friend?'** Disbelief colored his features, but quickly passed in favor of a smile. '**I'm glad that we **_did_** meet up through them, even if it does remind me of us in more than one way,'** He said, referring to how they had been a bit offensive to each other but now were friends. Shukaku wrinkled his nose in his version of a thoughtful chuckle. **'Remember how, when we had only just became friends, I had asked to hug you? That certainly hadn't turned out well,'** Shukaku said, smiling. Kyuubi had growled and left, back then. Most of Shukaku's memories with the nine-tailed fox contained rejection, hurt, and/or insults... But back then, he was glad to have a friend at all, so he had clung to Kyuubi much as Naruto had clung to _his _first friends. Shukaku noted that Gaara had started moving, and notified the other Bijuu. **'I don't know if there's a distance limit for going back and forth, so just in case, it'd probably be best if you went back to Naruto. He'd probably be curious about where you went, anyway.'** Shukaku walked over to the fox and trailed the other's shoulder with a careful claw, his way of saying goodbye, before turning and going back to his original position. He was pretty sure the fox would leave, as everyone usually would after they'd had their fun, so he closed his eyes in resignation and sighed, ready to wait out the while that would go by before the other might be able to come back.

The blonde smiled, appreciating the air conditioning that Gaara turned on. Tiredly, Naruto thought all his replies since speaking proved to be too troublesome. _Sounds like a plan; I believe in you to convince them. _Out of nowhere came a knock at the door, and Naruto suppressed laughter as Kankurou mentioned how he WASN'T going to open the door, and how paperwork was stacking up 'at an alarming rate'. Naruto sighed, knowing it meant his kare had to leave him, but he shrugged it off and merely wrapped himself up tighter in the sheets, covering his eyes with the blankets to block out the sun which was suddenly irritating his sight.

The sounds of Gaara opening a door and turning on a shower reached Naruto's ears, and the soft hum of water running soothed him to near-sleep, though he was awake enough to hear Gaara come padding back out for some clothes. Lazily he lifted his head and grinned at the wet-but-drying-off redhead, his thoughts – for once – out of the gutter and instead admiring how the other teen looked, which even after sex and a shower was graceful (almost regal) and charming.

A tender kiss was laid on the blonde and he savored it while it lasted, half-saddened and half-accepting of the 'ja' goodbye which followed. Sleepily, Naruto made a mental response, though he knew he was about to fall asleep. _Ja ne, Gaara-koi. _He didn't know why he added '-koi' to the end; it just seemed fitting. At least it was better than teasing the redhead with a 'Gaa-chan' nickname, which would make it sound like he was talking to a 4-year-old.

With a curt sigh as he heard Gaara shut the door behind him, Naruto rolled over onto his side and curled up in a ball, stuffing sheets between his knees to support his back and an extra pillow behind him o make it feel like Gaara was still laying there. Cool air drifted across any exposed parts of his naked skin, and it lulled him to sleep. Which, in that sleep, he hardly noticed Kyuubi return (then again, he hardly felt the demon leave to begin with).

Prior to leaving Gaara and Shukaku, Kyuubi had said to the desert raccoon: **'No, it hadn't turned out well; eh… sorry about that, I suppose. A fox, despite being close in family, is mostly a loner-type of animal, though I can't go around blaming my traits for being a lousy friend. Which yes, you were the only one I had for some time out of the other demons, since you're the sole one of them all to tolerate me and my fiery temper, not to emotion my sneaky ways.' **Kyuubi sighed gently. **'I was better at manipulating people than actually befriending them. I've learned a few things, though; most of it from Naruto, in fact. He's quite the extraordinary human, changing whoever he comes across and in the end making their acquaintance.' **Glancing around, he realized time was growing short to stay. He didn't utter a goodbye, thinking Shukaku had already done so with the light touch on his furry shoulder. So, the fox left, sailing through the air like an unseen ghost before landing safely in his cage, the seal slipping form his forehead and returning to the iron-looking bars. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his nine tails about him and closed his eyes, sleeping off time like he did most every day while inside of Naruto. But, at least now he could be less alone when the two Jinchuuriki were together. At least now he could somewhat make up for being the stubborn fox he had been in the past with Shukaku.

* * *

**Arianna: whoadamn, if all of you read this far i'm both amazed and flattered. but you know, i bet you all did read all of that, since there was so much action; both fight-wise, humor-wise, and of 'course SEX-WISE! whee! please please please tell us what you thought about this chapter. especially with the demons and KARAOKE. 'kay? :3**

**note: our shared fav song right now is The Bad Touch, can you tell? and our shared fav AMV: The Bad Touch NaruGaa by ChildeAtHeart17 of youtube. X'D**

**Rianne: I also like 'Comatose' by Skillet IT'S SO GOOD FOR ANY PAIRING IMAGINABLE! ESPECIALLY NARUGAA!**


	6. Living a Dream

**Arianna: OHMIGOD, we're actually updating this! And what's more, we're actually FINISHING it! - Yes, you heard right: _this is the final chapter of 'Lack of Abandon'. _It's been a great ride, kiddies, but we're pooped. And it's thanks to me (don'thurtmeplease) that we took so long. It got a bit... tiresome. But now it's done, and hopefully you're satisfied with the ending. :D**

**Super-special-awesome sidenote: "karezza" is the most epic K-word ever; very epic indeed. Know why? It means "prolonged sex avoiding orgasm". YES, IT'S TRUE. Go look it up. I found it on an 'unusual words, A-Z' website thingy. **

**Rianne: **

**So, yeah. It's the end. It's been an amazing time writing this, and I hope we can write something else together, but this has pretty much taken every ounce of love for each other right out of our system at the moment. Well, at least concerning Naruto. And writing. And shizz. .**

**I keep wanting to write more, just 'cause... But I'm feeling pretty satisfied with the ending-- and the fact that we got over 60,000 words! Can I get a "Holy shizz" and a "What, what"!?**

**But please, whatever you do, don't ask for an encore. =.='' I don't think we can handle it. But keep on lovin' us, 'cause we'll keep on lovin' you (at least, I will fercereal x3).**

**I hope that you'll forgive us (eventually) for holding out on you all for so long. But hey, we brought you an ending. So be glad! **

**'Specially that I helped bring it into being even though I've been puking all day and I have a terrible cough, resulting in my loss of voice. =.=''**

**Well. That having been said, love you all! I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the ride.**

**P.S. Sorry for lying above, but hey. I have to apologize for how many times I've made Gaara as OOC as Hidan would be if he started giving flowers out to little kids.**

* * *

In Konoha, the grass, as well as the leaves on the trees, were swaying gently in the breeze. Gaara was on his way to Naruto's apartment, smiling, with a bouquet of roses similar to the desert roses Naruto had given him. All of them conveyed love and loyalty and passion.

Gaara's meeting with the council hadn't gone well, but the second had been a success. Gaara had suggested that they go to Konoha to both get Naruto back and tell Tsunade that the teme was dead, the fact that Gaara had his demon back, and that Suna had changed it's laws to make same-sex marriages legal, causing a boom in the marriage records. Apparently there were more bi/homosexuals in Suna than anyone had thought. When Gaara approached the door, he heard an all-too-familiar muffled sound. One that resembled, much too closely, a moan. Opening the door slowly, he froze. His hands involuntarily dropped the bouquet of roses, and he silently asked Shukaku to block the mindlink between him and Naruto. A strangled sob tore out of his throat as he did so, his eyes wide, lips parted, and he abruptly turned on his heel and fled the sight of Rock Lee kissing Naruto, the latter seeming to enjoy it.

On his way into the forest, he stepped on the roses he had bought for the blonde, the collective petals ruined beneath his feet as he ran.

When he stopped in a clearing surrounded by trees, he unconsciously brought a trembling hand to the 'ai' tattoo above his right eye, and the other to his chest, both hands clutching, respectively, pale skin and his burgundy battle wear. Tears streamed from his eyes, sobs wracking his body, as he tried to convince himself that he hadn't found his love kissing someone else.

Unbeknownst to Gaara, the moan-like noise had in fact been a groan of protest and surprise. You see, Lee didn't know any other way to express what he felt, and wanted Naruto to know, even if he understood that Naruto could never return his feelings like Sakura had before him. Moments ago when the redheaded 'Kage hadn't been there to stand witness, the following had occurred:

"Naruto-kun! May I come inside? There is something you need to know!"

"Uh… sure, Lee. Come on in." Naruto agreed, stepping aside to let Bushy Brows into his apartment. Little did he know what he was getting himself into…

Cutting to the chase, Lee burst out: "The times that we would fight youthfully for Sakura-chan's burning passion and we went on missions together to make our youthful flames burn more strongly, made me become aware of what was right in front of me – Naruto-kun, I'm in love with you!"

And that's when lips were crushed unexpectedly onto other lips, Naruto grunted and blinked, and – with Lee's hair and shoulders blocking Gaara's gaze from seeing Naruto's reaction – Gaara had came in at the wrong time to see what he had.

Now, Naruto was no expert, but did this count as cheating on Gaara or not? He gently eased Rock Lee off of him. "Lee… I'm flattered and all, but I can't… er… you know…?"

The taijutsu specialist nods sadly, backing off. Just like Sakura, rejection was imminent. But he had to let Naruto know, because he couldn't stand it any longer. He made it his personal mission today to tell – rather, show – the blonde how he felt, and now that it was over he slowly smiled. "I understand, Naruto-kun. I shall just have to admire you from afar like I had with Sakura-chan. Bai-bai!" he says suddenly with a wave and is gone out the kitsune's door.

Naruto scratches his head and looks to see a few rose petals on his doorstep. He frowns, thinking immediately of his action to Gaara back in Suna. Hey, wait; wasn't he supposed to see the redhead today? Jerking into attention, Naruto jogged out the door and glanced around. A conspicuous trail of random, multi-colored petals dusted their way down to the street below, and halfway up the street Naruto swore he saw a lump of something with similar coloring. "Eh?" he puzzles, jumping down and coming closer to the lump, realizing after a few more feet that it was a stomped-on bouquet of roses. The blonde frowns, staring hard at it. There was no tag, but he got a sinking gut feeling that they were from Gaara.

Now where was that village leader, anyhow? Briefly, he thinks aloud: _Gaara, you'll never guess what just happened, 'ttebayo! ...Where are you? I have the weirdest thing to tell you.  
_  
Gaara didn't know what the other had tried to tell him, because of what he had made Shukaku do earlier. Sneakily, the tanuki allowed some of Gaara's despair and hurt leak through to the blonde, because the raccoon knew that Gaara needed to be comforted. The redhead fell to his knees, betrayal and pain fighting for dominance over the Kazekage. His fingers tightened their hold, and his fingernails would have cut him were he not wearing his sand armor, even if it was cracking through his loss of emotional control. Sand circled him warily, and the flow of tears increased, wetting whatever sand on his face that wasn't already broken apart and wet. He didn't bother trying to rein in his emotions, he was too overcome by them already. Unable to even think of doing anything else, he continued to weep, heartbroken. Naruto's love had transformed him-- and now, the thought of losing it, was doing the opposite.

The second he felt that sliver of Gaara's emotions, Naruto found himself running, dreading the worst. Random scenarios filled his head, ones of a different enemy or the same green-haired bastard coming back to life, or even Gaara catching Lee's kiss. Any of those would be bad, and even more filled his head, some less important and some more severe. Naruto swallowed hard at a lump that was forming in his throat. Where could Gaara be? The flowers had pointed towards the forest… well, checking there couldn't hurt.

It was then that he stumbled his way towards a low, broken sound, resembling a sob, but not quite. He followed it mindlessly, wondering if it was Gaara, and if so, was he injured? The blonde couldn't be sure, and silently he asked Kyuubi why their mind connection was so weak.  
**  
'Must be Shukaku's or Gaara's doing; they can cancel us out if they really need to,' **the demon fox informs him. **'Shukaku's powerful enough to do that, and if Gaara wanted to ever be sneaky, he could purposely fall asleep to block you out. You never know.'**

Naruto frowns in both worry and confusion at this. _But why would be want to? _He thinks dully to the demon as he wanders nearer to that sound. Faintly he sensed Gaara's chakra, and smelled his scent in the air. "Gaara? Are you out here?" he called loudly. If anything, the redhead could at least answer him via mindlink.

Gaara heard Naruto's voice, and a cry of sorrow and longing escaped him, along with the broken sobbing that wouldn't cease to torment him. The longing he felt was a longing to wake up, and find it was just a nightmare, or for Naruto to tell him Lee had randomly jumped him or something, but the redhead couldn't deny the moan that he had heard...  
His hurt redoubled as he continued to cry, his sand armor finally breaking apart and joining the rest of the chakra-infused grains, whirling erratically around. His sand broke a branch off a tree, then another, and then scarred the bark of a sapling. Some of it snaked through the trees, forming a thinner, wider circle outside of and around the clearing, as if wanting to protect him...

Sand came into view, and Naruto didn't need to hear anything to grasp that it was, indeed, Gaara in the forest. He dashes about through some sand, surprised it doesn't turn to whip him in the face or something of the like.

He spots red hair, red eyes and a pink nose, instantly getting a burn behind his own eyes at the sight of Gaara crying. He dodges some streams of sand to get near the young Kazekage, ignoring any painful contact he makes with it. "Gaara! What happened? Did someone hurt you?" the blonde asks repeatedly, finally reaching the redhead to reach a hand to the other teen's forearm, which currently was squeezing the blood flow in his other arm. He was in pain, and it made Naruto feel uneasy. "Say something…" he tries in a fretful whisper.

Naruto's act of innocence, as much as he longed to believe it, enraged the heartbroken teen. Yanking his arm out of the blonde's grasp, he glared at the blonde, but it wasn't very effective, as he was still crying. Sand whirling around the blonde, and it clamped down on the blonde's body, but not to the point where it would kill him. "DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW," the redhead screamed out, his voice cracking. Despair and pain took over again and he let himself fall to his knees again, hugging himself in a desperate attempt to find comfort, his eyes shut tightly. He felt, distantly, his knees prickle where he knelt on sharp pebbles; and he felt uncomfortable kneeling there as the ground was rather hard; but he didn't even give these facts a passing glance, for he was much more preoccupied with Naruto, and the confusing pain he felt, clouding his judgment.

As Naruto was struck to the ground, and as Gaara's outburst processed in his suddenly shock-still mind, realization struck. _He had seen. He saw that kiss Lee gave me. He thinks I've betrayed him the way he's been betrayed in the past...  
_  
Tears sprung to his eyes, and in a hushed, frightened (not by Gaara but by the fact that he had caused so much hurt to the person he loved) tone, he murmurs: "No... Gaara, no... Lee kissed me, and I didn't... what I mean is, he did it without me having time to react and... Gaara, I would never do that to you, you have to believe me! I only love you, remember? _Mai ichi koi_..." he said slowly at the end, framing each word with confidence. He just hoped it was enough as the sand whirled around him and the flushed, crying face of the redhead in front of him took in what he had said.

Gaara's sand fell slowly away from the blonde, and in an agonized tone, the redhead replied. "I can't tell if I should trust you or not..." The soft reply was regretful, and he slowly stopped crying, even though the heartbreak was still evident in his voice. "How can I trust you when all I know is I heard a moan, opened the door to see Lee kissing you, and the fact that you didn't push him away? _You didn't push him away! _You _let _him kiss you! How can I know to trust you!? I want to believe you, but how!?" The redhead shook his head as if to push away confusing thoughts, and focused on what he knew, and what Naruto was claiming. He wanted so badly to believe the blonde, but he was in a state of disarray, his emotions for once hindering him. It was clear he couldn't just talk this out over a cup of tea.

"Gaara-koi..." Naruto said softly, the tears in his eyes spilling over onto tanned cheeks. "I pushed him away almsot as soon as I realized what had happened. And what moan? I was groaning in protest! I didn't like it! It felt funny... like when I accidentally kissed Sasuke when I was 12: it kind of disgusted me, since Lee's my friend and I've never had thoughts of him otherwise. Gaara... please..." he cries, attempting to inch himself closer. "If you don't believe me, re-open the connection and let me show you. Even ask Kyuubi! He was there! And even ask Lee... he knows I can't return his feelings."

Naruto was practically begging, sitting up on his knees to face his love, hoping - praying - that he'd believe him. Gaara was delicate when it came to things like this, and he knew that. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he let Lee into his house? He shouldn't have even been home...

Gaara needed to be comforted, so he let himself lean against the blonde, but refrained from touching him in any other way. Something was tugging at him, a nagging feeling that Naruto was telling the truth. Gaara reminded himself that he needed to be more trusting if he was going to get anywhere in life... and he would likely go insane if he threw Naruto away, even after witnessing that kiss. "Please don't hurt me again," He asked softly, putting his forehead in the crook of the blonde's neck and telling Shukaku that it was alright to let thoughts through, but nothing else, for now. _I don't think I'd survive another heartbreak like that,_ he finished mentally, a thought that wasn't meant to bring about a response. His sand slowly stopped showing any signs of promised pain; it settled in the grass like a predator snoozing away a large meal as the redhead exhaled shakily.

Naruto's face contorted upon hearing the word 'heartbreak'. Apparently, Gaara's heart was much more fragile than Naruto had thought, something so sensitive that if he was caught with a teeny kiss from another, it shattered the redhead's chest to pieces. More tears dared to try and flow hotly down whiskered cheeks, but somehow Naruto was able to hold them in. Swallowing a few times to find his voice, Naruto gently – with the lightest of touches since Gaara was so obviously wary of him at the moment – draped his hands around Gaara's front and told him: "I never wanted to in the first place. So you have my word that it won't happen again, _ever_; dattebayo."

His own phrase sounded out of place and childish in the somber scene, but it was a habit of speech Naruto found hard to break, so it had slipped out. He didn't bother to take it back, merely rocked slightly to console the Kazekage. _I'd rather be here with you and have you be the only person to kiss me for all eternity, and yeah, that's kinda cheesy but it's utterly true. Lee meant it but I didn't, and I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry you came in at that time, to have to see it happen… _and the blonde trailed off, not sure what he was saying or what to say next. Talk about 'intense'. And for once, Naruto didn't try to lamely lighten the mood with a line like: 'So, we can get married in Suna now? Awesome!'. Instead, he kept quiet even in his thoughts, trying to settle them to a low buzzing without meaning. He simply waited for Gaara to show that he was okay again.

Gaara slowly brought his hands up to hold Naruto's arms, and softly squeezed them. "Gomen. Your present got ruined." The words were murmured softly as he let himself relax and sigh, glad that he had a reason still to trust the blonde; his sheer compassion, and his way of being able to soothe any hurt, was enough to calm Gaara down again. Naruto was able bring him back from the edge that he would have gone over on his own. Gaara kind of cuddled Naruto, like a child, but not quite. It wasn't a 'yay, go us!' type of hug/cling factor that children usually had; it was a type of solemn acceptance. An acceptance that yes, he was fragile, even if he could kill without remorse. An acceptance that yes, he was hurt and no, he didn't want to ruin their relationship. An acceptance that no, he didn't want to talk, that he didn't want to be around anyone but Naruto, that no, he didn't want Naruto to ever talk to anyone else. An acceptance that yes, things like this could happen, that Naruto had to talk to others, that life and love are rough and hard (which Gaara knew better than perhaps anyone else). But it was also an acceptance that if anything happened to hurt Naruto, Gaara would be there in the same way Naruto was there for him now; because he knows he hasn't been able to comfort Naruto the way he wants to, for the occasions (thankfully) haven't shown themselves.

Naruto gave a sigh of relief when hands met his arms, and he leaned into the other more to close as much space between them as Gaara allowed; he wanted to make it up to the redhead, because otherwise guilt weighed down on him. "I don't care if the flowers got ruined; so long as you still have some trust in me, I'm fine."

They sat there on the dirty forest floor for a while, not saying much. Then, Naruto proposed quietly, "We should probably go back into town soon. Someone might wonder where the hell we ran off to." He smiles a tiny bit, though it doesn't reach his eyes. Part of him still couldn't grasp what Lee had done and (especially) how the action had affected the teen in his arms.

Gaara shook his head. "You're not fine." He could tell, even without Shukaku releasing the block on the emotional factor of their link (Which Gaara had undone as soon as he realized it) that Naruto wasn't as happy as it seemed. He put a hand up to the other's whiskered cheek, and then put his hands behind the blonde's neck and brought him closer for a kiss, much more passionate than the one Lee had given the blonde. "There," The redhead said, his lips curling in a familiar, wry half-grin.

Shukaku, finally allowed to stop interfering with their link, crossed over to Naruto so that he could speak to the fox inside. **"Ohayo, Kyuubi." **_Hello, friend,_ he thought, smiling.

Naruto let out a short sigh though his nose when Gaara caught him being not-so-'fine'. However, as soon as pale lips were pressed against his in a passionate, reassuring way, all his not-'fine'-ness was washed down the drain. The redhead gave him a lopsided grin, murmuring a small 'There,' to prove his point. Wordlessly, he pulled Gaara into him for a 'thank you' sort of response, giving him a tiny, hot blow in the ear, in turn tossing a bit of Gaara's crimson locks.

Meanwhile, Kyuubi glanced upwards through the bars of his seal-created cage and he smiled weakly. **'Ohayo,' **he replies, standing and stretching out his limbs, his tails twitching and thrashing for a few seconds in small motions before he yawns. **'I was just resting my eyes a bit. Everything was so quiet and stressful a moment ago, and when things get that way I tend to turn the other cheek,' **he explains dryly, not sure why he was saying so much. The demon fox shrugs, sitting on his back legs. Silently, he was glad for the company, somehow missing it. Naruto rarely decides to actually visit him in body, and only now decides to speak (well, _think_) to him.

Gaara smiled as Naruto embraced him, blowing in his ear and therefore also moving some hair away from it. He buried his face in the blonde's chest, feeling as if the kiss between the spandex-wearing shinobi and the blonde had never happened as far as he was concerned. It wasn't something that Naruto had enjoyed, so Gaara could forget it as long as it didn't happen again, but there would always be a lingering doubt, a suspicion, and a new edge on his protective nature. His arms pulling the blonde closer by the shoulder, Gaara breathed in deeply, smelling ramen, faintly; as well as vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and the blonde's strawberry shampoo. The smell was an intoxicating mix, one that Gaara could breathe in for eternity and never grow tired of

In turn, Naruto was taking in Gaara's warmth and scents, as well as the general _feel_ of the other boy. To him, no one mattered except Gaara, not even Lee and his feelings or anyone else's. So, taking the redhead's offer of wanting to be closer whole-heartedly, he clutched him in his arms lovingly and felt every dip, curve, muscle and slight softness that made up Gaara's upper torso as they were pressed together in an embrace, heat surrounding the orange-and-black clad nin. He exhaled contentedly, scooping up a whiff of his kare's hair, which reminded him of sun and earth and coffee, and an added something else… blood? Why did he always smell or taste a vague hint of blood on the redhead? Was it from his past, or was that Naruto's fox-like senses kicking in to make him smell/taste Gaara's own life-giving fluid? Either way, he didn't care, since it was hardly there, only a phantom of what smells Gaara was truly made of. Like ginger. There was always some spice of ginger on him along with the other smells. But the blonde focused more on the feel of his body than the smell of his hair, since Gaara always felt better than anything else. Just the way he fit into Naruto when they embraced, like a missing piece… it was the greatest feeling in the world to him. Again he felt compelled to say a word that had become, as of late, frequently used in his vocabulary. "_Aishiteru,_" he whispered. And, like the first time, he added, "_Daidun_."

Almost falling asleep, lulled by the comforting embrace and already very tired from the emotional stress placed on him, Gaara rubbed his face against the blonde. "I love me too," He joked, before returning the sentiment with a soft yawn attached. His hands fell from their position around the blonde, instead holding the blonde around the waist loosely, and the redhead's teal eyes slowly started to flutter shut, content in Naruto's arms. He felt unforgivingly warm in Naruto's hold, and that same warmth seemed to cover him so completely that he couldn't keep himself awake. He felt like he was floating, vaguely, floating in an ocean of comfort.

Pfft, as if. But still, he was comforted. And he wasn't alone.

The blonde peered down, smiling broadly when he became aware of Gaara's even breathing and closed eyes. _He's asleep._ He thinks idly, his hand mindlessly starting to track through red strands of hair. _I'll let him rest. Everyone else can wait._ Naruto himself leans back and rests his head against the bark of a tree, a breath escaping his lips: a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in. A small breeze picks up through the forest and he relaxes completely, probably a mistake to let his guard down as a ninja but at the moment he didn't care. Distantly his stomach bothered him and demanded food, but again he didn't care, thinking Gaara came first; before even his stomach. And if the Kazekage wanted to rest, he would, and nothing – not even a rumbling tummy – was going to interfere. Although he was tempted to shunshin out from under the other boy to get something real quick, he didn't. Vaguely he wondered how it was Gaara could sleep, and then he remembered Kyuubi's magic and nearby strength; Shukaku probably didn't want to come out or eat away at Gaara's personality/soul when he knew Naruto would get angry with him and Kyuubi would use his forces against him.

Speaking of which…  
**  
'So what was it like, being out of your human host? I saw with my own eyes the effects of the whole Akatsuki incident,' **Kyuubi asked, trying to make conversation with the desert raccoon.

Gaara shifted slightly in Naruto's arms, a small frown marring his features. Inside him, Shukaku looked away, ears pinned back. "**Horrible.." **He whispered, his voice soft compared to the rough, growl-like sound he usually produced. He noticed Gaara had fallen asleep, and sand trickled from the redhead's gourd to caress a pale cheek gently. "**Shh, little one,"** He crooned softly, making the redhead smile a little in his sleep, the dream that was becoming a night-terror no longer such a frightful or horrible vision. Gaara relaxed in his sleep, curling up closer to the blonde, almost like a child...

* * *

Gaara's teal eyes fluttered open slowly, perhaps an hour after he had fallen asleep. He started to stretch softly, bumping Naruto's chin with his loosely-fisted hand accidentally. Realizing that Naruto was there, he grinned sleepily and brought his hands up to clasp them behind the blonde's neck and plant a kiss on his lips. "Gu-tenmorugen," He said, smiling. Good morning. A devious grin replaced his smile as he said, "Ready to ren'ai?" He expected to catch the blonde totally off guard with ren'ai, as it meant, literally, the act of making love, or to make love. A mental picture of Naruto underneath him, moaning and flushing uncontrollably, was blasted at the blonde with the wicked grin still in place. He concealed his nearly-uncontrollable urge to laugh, and his eyes twinkled with mirth as he watched Naruto, awaiting a reaction.

"N-now? In the middle of a f-forest?" he smiles crookedly with nervousness, unable to keep the flush from his whiskered cheeks at the mental image Gaara sent his way. He glances around, wondering what eyes could be in the trees. You never know when there could be someone hanging around in the middle of a wooden landscape, since ninjas were sneaky like that. "Don't you want to… uh… eat first, or go to my house or something?" he inquired, mostly thinking of his own stomach and how a bed would be much more comfortable than the ground. Although he didn't know if Gaara was teasing or not. He could be; the redhead does that sometimes, leading the blonde on and then stopping cold with a teeny 'I don't feel like it anymore' smirk on his face. Naruto squirmed slightly against the 'Kage, looking at him and trying not to think of how easily he could talk him into the 'ren'ai' even when he's not necessarily in the mood.

* * *

**  
'Hmm, I've noticed something: years ago when Naruto first fought Gaara and you, you seemed more than eager to get out and wreak havoc. But now you're gentler with the red-haired boy; parent-like. Similar to Naruto and me,' **Kyuubi remarks with a sly grin, trying to tease Shukaku into admitting he'd gone soft and holds a weak spot for Gaara. Normally Shu was portrayed as the most rugged and reckless of the tailed demons, especially with his funky voice, spiked tail, and black-gold eyes. Yet here he was, calling a human 'little one'. Which made Kyuubi smile, feeling a little better about himself and his weaknesses, as well as feeling a tad more similar to the other.

Gaara let out a chuckle. "Naruto, I didn't think you were such a sex fiend." Another kiss, a nibble on Naruto's ear, and Gaara spoke again. "Luckily for you, so am I." Taking Naruto's hand, he stood. "However, food does sound nice. We'll eat, then I'll show you a place I think is quite interesting, ne?" The redhead pulled the blonde up gently, before putting a hand to his collarbone and dragging it, just hard enough to be felt, down the blonde's chest and abdomen. "Come on, then. Ichiraku's might be closed for lunch soon, according to the sun. It's telling me that it should be around eleven thirty. You do want your heaping bowls of ramen, courtesy of my rather large income, right?" Gaara smirked as he realized that they'd been in the forest for almost two hours.

* * *

Shukaku smiled softly. **"Yes, I have. I must say, after a while they grow on you, ne?" **The Tanuki grinned at the fox, waving his tail softly, before his smile slowly faded. **"It's his nightmares, that bother me. They're what made me want to protect him. He's hated by his own kind, and he has those nightmares- He sees everyone who he's ever reached out to betray him or say hurtful things to him before they die at his hands. Those nightmares are the true reason why he didn't sleep. I used to come out at those times to try and kill the bastards that would hate their own young like they do Gaara. However, he hated me for it. Soon I told him that if he didn't sleep, I couldn't take over even if I wanted to. I had no idea he'd be able to pull it off all those years. Now I'm just glad he's started sleeping again. I'm not too sure he knows that the occasional time he'd pass out before I was taken away, I'd stop him from having nightmares or dreams, instead making it seem, for him, as if he hadn't slept at all. It's just too painful for both of us. The only thing is, when I do, that it takes some of his soul away. I didn't want him to be oblivious, so I told him. He instantly started to drink coffee."** Shukaku chuckled at the memory of how the red-head had scrambled for a coffeepot the minute the raccoon had admitted to the deed.

Naruto immediately brightened up, a wide grin on his face as he was pulled to his feet. A small, warm shiver grazed his spine as Gaara trailed his pale hand over his clothes, but other than that his mind was focused on eating ramen with the redhead treating him. Good thing too, because his toad money pouch is losing weight these days. Slowly, as they walked back towards the heart of the village, Gaara's words hit the blonde more strongly. He raised a golden eyebrow, a small smile on his lips. "Some place interesting, eh? Like where?" he asked with interest and curiosity, though both were hidden behind his teasingly light-hearted tone. Causally he draped his arm around the other's shoulders. "While I eat I'll be distracted with thoughts of where the hell it could be," he chuckles lightly. Suddenly, the time occurs to him and he realizes something. _Ne, Gaara-koi, I think we've always had sex during the day for the most part… weird. It's like we can't wait for the "romantic hour", haha. _He jokes, though the coincidence of the fact was mostly serious.

* * *

Kyuubi snorts to hold back his laughter, thinking it amusing how humans always turn to the quick-fixes, like caffeine. Turning more serious, he nods. **'Sounds like I misjudged you, Shu.' **He says, the closest thing the fox can make to an apology. He shifts his position, tails rippling a red-brown river for a moment. **'And nightmares like that are understandable. According to what Gaara's memories have shown (I kind of hacked into them when I first set my magic to connect the two. I was curious who Naruto was choosing for a mate. You can't blame me...), those sort of tragic dreams come from his traitor uncle and people of the like. Poor kid. Some of Naruto's own nightmares involve things I'm not even sure I care to remember. A few of the older ones have that Uchiha constantly leaving and betraying and dying and the like. Annoys the hell out of me. I can understand that they were close like brothers, but quite frankly the sight of that black-haired sonuvabitch repulses me and makes me want to come out and rip his throat out. He's hurt Naru-to more than anyone else…' **Kyuubi sighs, trying to swallow his rage. He shakes hisfurry head, listening for a moment to Naruto's thoughts. He chuckles airily and doesn't comment for once in his life, instead stealing a glace at the demon across from him. **'Now where does that leave us? They'll be busy and we'll be bored,' **he jokes.

Gaara chuckled, smiling. "You'll have to wait to find out, and I'll blindfold you on the way there." The redhead leaned into the blonde's touch as he walked, grinning. "Hmm, you're right. Luckily, by the time we finish eating our ramen, and I get you to the spot I want to show you, it should be later in the evening, possibly almost night-time." Gaara grinned and handed Naruto a long, thick gray wallet that was a cloth-covered rectangle. On the front it had, embroidered, a perfect likeness of Gaara's eyes. No one in Suna could mistake who the wallet belonged to that way. Inside was almost a million yen, as the redhead didn't spend any of his personal income for long periods of time, instead saving every little coin. Grinning, the redhead explained the action. "Sky's the limit tonight," He said humorously.

Shukaku smiled in acceptance of the 'apology', then laughed nervously and blushed as several ideas ran through his head. **"Don't ask me that again,"** He said jokingly. "**We could trade embarrassing stories about Naruto and Gaara. Although, you already pretty much know everything about Gaara, so that wouldn't be very fun for you, ne? How about we keep talking like we have been? I, uh, really enjoy your company, so it doesn't matter what we do as long as you don't have to stop talking to me,"** He said.

"Sky's the limit, eh?" Naruto clarifies with a raise of a suggestive eyebrow. "Now I'm almost afraid of what the hell your mind cooked up to do tonight. And I hate blindfolds; can't you tell me where so we can go together?" he tried, but to no avail; Gaara sent him a look (he's been quite expressive these days; and always turning on a dime, it seemed) and he sighed, knowing the look meant: 'nope, you're being blindfolded and I'm leading you there and that's final'.

Konohakagure itself was within sight now, peaking out between a handful of trees. Shrugging about losing the blindfold battle, Naruto led the way to Ichiraku's, humming to himself some song or another as he slid his hand down from Gaara's shoulder to his milky-colored hand.

Inside, Kyuubi was a bit confused at first. **'Hmm? Why not?' **But realization (or as much of it as his brain could concoct) hit, and he made a small nodding motion, turning his head the other way for a second. He cleared his throat, not quite used to talking to the other demon in this manner. Kyuubi was the sort to easily shrug it off, however. **'I enjoy your company as well,' **the fox says slowly, **'And I guess you could say I've missed the demon race around. That damn Akatsuki has gathered seven – er, well, you're back, so I suppose only six now – of us original "legendary" demons, one of them being my own cousin, the two-tailed cat. What do you supposed happened to all of them? They were quite powerful, and yet were taken from the world like candy from a baby,' **Kyuubi tries as a topic of conversation, his tone heated towards the cloaked gang. **'The stupid thing is, they only want us for our power. They want us****as**_** weapons**_**. Which irks me; they try to use you that way for Suna because of your host's father and his village's financial problems. I hate that they did that to you, locking you away in a human just so they could have a weapon of their own. And I know Naruto hates it, since Gaara was said human.' **A sigh escapes between sharp, gleaming teeth. **'No wonder our race is slowly becoming scarce; humans are unforgivable. Most of them, anyway. It's disgusting.' **He glances up, suddenly chortling. **'I talk far too much since I've been talking to myself for so long. Please, you say something now.'  
**  
Gaara had grinned slightly when Naruto gave up the 'blindfold battle' per say, as well as the comment about being afraid of what Gaara cooked up. "Be afraid. Be VERY afraid," He said in a deep voice, before promptly laughing his ass off (well, to the extent that he ever laughed). When they got nearer to the ramen stand, he pulled his reserved, calm mask on and let go of Naruto's hand reluctantly. Explanation?

_Look around. Villagers. I want their knowledge of us as a couple to come out when we get married. Y'know, dump it all on them at once. That way, they'll voice their complaints at least a day afterwards, giving us a little time to prepare, and then we can cuff them like a raccoon mother would a misbehaving youngling, shocking them and then telling them why they should keep their mouths shut._ A faint smile once more adorned the redhead's pale features, and while he wouldn't hold the blonde's hand, he did walk half-a-step behind the blonde, and barely the same distance to the side of said blonde, meaning he would be walking much too close to Naruto for comfort, were they not a couple, or just very close.

Shukaku 'hmm'ed. **"I have far too dirty a mind to be trusted, Kyu, you should know that by now."** A grin later, and he replied to the request to speak. "**It is a shame that we're disappearing, but at the same time, we're not. You see; Take Isonade, for example. Three-tailed shark. Remember the sword it has? Samehada? The blue, fish-like member of the Akatsuki has that same sword, and resembles a shark. Now Kaku, the seven-tailed badger. He uses clay camouflage. Remind you of the blonde? Now for Yamata No Orochi, the eight-tailed snake. Remind you of the former member, Orochimaru? The others (Raijuu, the 6-tailed weasel, who uses electricity, Hokou, the five-tailed dog, who has Wind, water, earth, lightning, and fire, Sokou, the four-tailed rooster-reptile, who controls almost anything poisonous, and Nekomata, who controls death, and possibly dead souls), while sketchy, resemble the other Akatsuki, ne? I have reason to believe the Akatsuki are sealing them inside themselves to gain power."**

The demon fox steadily nodded. **'That makes a lot of sense. After all, they captured a bunch of us; why not get some profit from it?' **Suddenly he begins to chuckle. **'Too dirty of a mind? Hmm, I suppose so; out of the nine of us, you always seemed the one with the most active sex life.' **Kyuubi lightly shoves the other. **'I kid. And I'm also trying to avoid getting too angry at that damn organization. They make me want to…' **he drifts off with a growl, staring hard at nothing in particular. Kyuubi shakes his head briskly.** 'Still, it's not the same with the actual demons I've known and fought to be withering away. Kami knows I nearly screamed when I realized from Gaara's death that it meant I was one of the last two. It felt… lonely. Friends and foes, all gone. But now that you're back, I don't feel so bad.' **_**One less power for the Akatsuki to have. And one more thing to converse with. Somehow, I missed the old 'coon dog, **_Kyuubi adds mentally and with a slow shrug of his shoulders.**  
**  
Outside, Naruto's lips jutted out into a small pout. But he nodded in agreement with Gaara's thoughts, immediately putting up a smile and lacing his hands behind his head as they entered the main street beyond the gates and made their way to Ichiraku's. He could almost feel Gaara breathing behind him, and was secretly comfortable with the closeness. Coming up to the old man's ramen shop, he sat himself down at a stool, hollering a 'hello' and a grin. "Two chicken-and-miso ramens, please! And load it with noodles!" he watched out the corner of his eye as Gaara sat gracefully beside him at the counter. The girl behind said counter made a 'o' with her mouth as she realized (and whisper-informed the old man) that the Kazekage of Sunakagure was gracing them with his presence. The two began to work their best and quickly, whipping up some damn good, flavorful soup and setting it – still steaming – in front of the boys. "Whoo-hoo!" Naruto cheered, plucking apart his wooden chopsticks and muttering a quick 'itadakimasu' prior to diving in. he slurped loudly and began filling his empty stomach, briefly wondering where the hell Gaara was going to take him…

Gaara slowly and delicately broke his chopsticks apart, holding them precisely to bring golden noodles to his lips daintily. Seeing Naruto was finished his third bowl _already_, he grinned somewhat. In between slow bites, he spoke. "You know Naruto's appetite, or should, by now. You might want to have extra ramen ready. I told him sky's the limit up to 80 thousand yen, but perhaps that wasn't very wise." A smile graced the owner's view, and dissipated just as swiftly. Red hair moves in the breeze, as the Kazekage finally finished his first bowl. Glancing over to the blonde, the redhead silently asked the other if he wanted more, and encouraged it if the blonde wanted to.

Shukaku smiled. "**Well, I like being back too, Kyuu." **The raccoon dog started to walk forward, but stopped, almost as if unwilling to bring himself closer to the fox.

Being the clever demon he was, Kyuubi noticed Shukaku's hesitation and briefly wondered why. Was he truly so intimidating? Oh, right; he _was_. To show things were fine, he nodded once to his companion and twitched a few of his many tails.

Meanwhile, Naruto was doing the opposite: he was shaking his head. He looked to the chef and smiled. "I'm stuffed! That was delicious! Thanks a bunch!" The blonde hopped down from his stool and motioned to Gaara to pay _and get the hell out of here,_ he told the redhead mentally. His knew his feelings of curiosity and over-eagerness would spread to his kare, and he did so on purpose. Just what was Gaara planning, anyway? Their thought connection did nothing if one of them really wanted to keep a secret and push it to the back of their mind.

Shukaku hid the true reasons for why he'd hesitated behind a large, false grin. He moved closer until he was sitting next to the fox, his tail moving almost nervously back and forth, blushing ever-so-faintly. Was it suddenly warmer in there? **"So, Kyuu... uh, what's up?"**

* * *

Gaara smirked, and though he was feeling Naruto's impatience, he was agonizingly slow finishing his own bowl. Paying the something-odd-yen that their meal cost, Gaara led Naruto back to the village walls. Taking Naruto's forehead protector off him, Gaara smiled wickedly. "No peeking." Wrapping the forehead protector around cerulean eyes, he used sand to lightly layer the cloth, making it completely black for the blonde. Putting his hands behind the blonde's arms and under his legs, Gaara scooped Naruto up bridal style and took to the trees, jumping every few seconds. A small while later he touched down, and nodded in approval at the surrounding area. He set the blonde down, steadying him, before lifting Naruto's hitai-aite to its proper place, standing very close behind him.

In front of them was a secluded, rarely-explored area of the forest, a clearing at that. There was a small rock face to their right, meaning a source for Gaara's sand, and in the rock face there was a cave, more than big enough to store things, but with a small entrance that wasn't obvious. To their left, there was a large pond, obviously clean, because it stemmed from a waterfall coming down the side of said rock face and extending to the pond, another small stream branching off from it and disappearing into the trees. Behind them, and surrounding them, was a maze of trees that couldn't be navigated without a hell of a sense of direction, and throughout the clearing were tall trees that had unnaturally long branches, which continued the canopy for the most part, but still allowed a few small patches of sky to be viewed. In front of them, however, was the real shocker. A medium-sized hut, made completely of hardened, reddish sand, almost to the point of glass, stood two floors tall in front of them. It had windows, with actual glass panes, a door, black curtains, and an orange, brown and green roof in a camouflage pattern. Suddenly the reason why Gaara had been acting slightly lethargic whenever he was in Konoha made itself clear. "I worked on it every chance I had," he murmured softly. "It's all for you. Just for you, Naruto. Even when I'm not here." A tender kiss to the side of Naruto's neck later, Gaara continued. "Do you want to take a look inside?"

For a moment, the blonde stood trembling with bubbly excitement, practically speechless. "Wha–… how did you find…? And make…? And… Uuwahhh!" he squeal-sighed, leaping to hug Gaara tightly before skipping up to the beautifully crafted red hideout, throwing the door open and bouncing up and down like a little kid at Christmas. "Come on! Gimme a tour, Gaara-koi!" he exclaims. Who would've thought Gaara could be so romantic as to make him something like this? He almost felt like he didn't deserve the redhead sometimes. The location was perfect, allowing opportunity for nightly skinny dips and cave exploring and campfires and all sorts of other things he could think to do in the middle of a forest secretly, with or without Gaara (preferably with). It dawned on the blonde that a place like this, in the forest between Konohakagure and Sunakagure… it was the perfect meeting place for two lovers to escape. He grinned devilishly at the thought. Already he was planning things…

Tugging Gaara along by the arm, he walked down this tiny hallway and that, flinging open doors. He saw the kitchen first thing, it being an open space near the back and connected by an archway form the living room area that the front door had opened up into. Despite it's outward size, the hut was fairly big, at least compared to Naruto's apartment. The kitchen, to the blonde's delight, was orange, and the adjoining dining room a sunny orange-yellow mix. The flung open the cabinets, laughing as he found already an entire stock of ramen hidden inside one cupboard. He jogged out and went down another part of the lower half of the hut, finding a small, rich-colored cream-and-brown- with accents of mossy green- bathroom. Racing upstairs, he found a lovely burgundy bathroom with gold accents and a candle or two, connected to the master bedroom which held the softest, warmest gradient of sky blue to dark navy, like the ocean as it goes deeper and deeper into the earth. Again he spied candles, probably due to the fact that electricity this far out from the village couldn't be transferred. Taking a step around an oddly-grinning Gaara, Naruto explored a guestroom that held neutral hues although comforting and fresh, as well as a storage closet that was filled with all sorts of items, from a broom to towels to a few weapons. He could live here, it was so perfect. How did Gaara ever manage to…? But it didn't matter. It was a wonderfully sweet surprise, and again Naruto turns to give the 'Kage a hug, even slipping a kiss in.

Tearing up slightly, he smiles at his kouhai-to-be. "Thank you so, so much, Gaara… no one's ever given me a gift anything like this… I…" he smiles again, almost unable to think. Another kiss, but this time softly on the other's ai-labeled forehead. "I love you. And I can't believe you did something like this. Can we live here once we're… married?" he asks hesitantly, a pleading, shy, happy smile on his mouth. It's like the electric feeling wouldn't go away, and he liked it very, very much. _Gaara… thanks again… you're too kind… I want to give you something, now, too, even if it can't be as big as all this._

* * *

**'At the moment,'** Kyuubi starts, **'I'm wondering where the hell your vessel is taking my kit. Oh, wait… I see now. Ha. Very clever of Gaara. I assume you knew a little about this, Shu?' **he grins slyly, gesturing with a clawed paw at the red hut through Naruto's eyes. **'Maybe even helped him? Reminds me of something…' **Though he doesn't mention _what_; he leaves it to Shukaku to remember. Briefly, the fox looks to the other demon, thinking all sorts of thoughts he hasn't thought about since before his rage at the 4th Hokage and all his bloodlust-filled days. Odd at how another's presence affects him.

A chuckle issued forth from his pale lips as Gaara replied. "Yes, silly. That's why I made it. Naruto, if you want to repay me, just stay with me. That's all I could ever ask of you, and it's more than enough to make me happy." Gaara grinned. "I've got another gift for you. You didn't check in the box on top of the dresser." In the master bedroom, there were indeed some beautifully crafted mahogany dressers, and on top of one, just under the window and across from the bed, which was in front of the door, was a small orange box. Wrapped around the fist-sized box was a dark red ribbon tied in a bow, preventing the slip-off shoebox-type cover from coming off. Instead of letting the blonde open it all at once, he only let the blonde take off the ribbon before putting his hand over the top. Smiling, he slowly revealed the contents, only to put said contents onto Naruto's ring finger.

The second present was a pure silver engagement ring, with a small diamond embedded in the thick band of the metal. On the inside was inscribed 'To the one food I can never get enough of; Aishiteru, Naruto-koi.'

A lopsided grin was offered, his forehead against Naruto's, as he withdrew his fingers from Naruto's hand, his other still holding the now-empty box, along with it's ribbon.

"I've got everything for the wedding set up in Suna, a few weeks from now. Tsunade said she can 'let the blonde twerp' go for a few days so that he doesn't miss the ceremony, so that's all worked out..."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat, his excitement turning to melty surprise paired with a heated blush. Stay with him forever? Of 'course! And now a ring? He felt spoiled, and at the same time like his dreams were coming true. An odd mix of emotions it was to be sure, but slowly a gently, heartfelt smile reached his lips and he pushed against Gaara's forehead to bring their lips together softly. The sting of tears (of undeserving and content) nipped at the back of Naruto's eyes, but he ignored them. Instead he brought his hands around his fiancée's waist and laid his head on the other's shoulder. Grinning, he whispers, "Damn, you're pretty classy, Gaara. Setting all this up and stuff." He made a secret mental note to get Gaara a ring, wondering deviously what to inscribe on the inside, since Gaara's own to him had been both clever (if not a bit perverted) and sweet. The blonde nuzzled his nose into Gaara's neck, again murmuring 'thank you', but adding, "For everything," at the end. Idly, he twirled his new ring around his finger. He was never going to take it off, he knew that much.

Gaara put the orange box back on the dresser, as Naruto laid his head on the redhead's shoulder. Smiling as well, he let one hand come to rest on the back of the blonde's neck, the other amidst blonde hair. "It's the least I can do, for the one I 'can't get enough of'," he said. Gaara reluctantly pulled away and laid on the bed, his head near the footboard, to let his eyes droop as he watched his beloved. The blankets, pillows, and sheets were the color of Naruto's eyes, with blended patches of a seafoam green that matched his own. He seemed half-asleep, but at the same time, energetic and wide-awake. "There's an attic, too. Oh, there's yet another gift- last one for today, I swear – courtesy of my rather large income. Inside the top drawer. It's a painting of us."

The painting had the left side devoted to sand, moon, and the likeness of Gaara; the other side depicted grass, tree, sun, and Naruto. The two were clad in their signature outfits, facing each other and embracing tenderly. The ends of Naruto's forehead protector, dangling down, and the hem of Gaara's loose battle gear flowed to the left in a slight breeze. Their faces were close, their eyes half-lidded, as if they'd just kissed. Both wore a small grin, and their eyes, even in the painting, could express clearly what they felt, the emotion being love. In the center, just behind their likenesses, the time and location merged as it might if traveling; small bushes appeared, and in the sky it appeared to be dawn. The frame was simple; gold on Gaara's side, as if a continuation of the sand, and an earthy brown on Naruto's.

Delicately, Naruto picked up the painting and ran his hands over the double frame. He came and sat on the bed beside Gaara, tracing with his fingers the painting-Gaara's face and the sun on the painting-Naruto's side. He raised it above their heads as he laid down next to the redhead. "It's…" he searched for the right word. Beautiful? Gorgeous? Lovely? Romantic? "…Perfect." With a grin Naruto looked to Gaara. "But who'd you get to paint it? Someone in Suna?" He chuckled. "Or was it Sai?" Shaking his head like he didn't matter, Naruto set the painting down on one of the two bedside tables and snuggled up to Gaara's right side. "Arigato… mou," he murmurs into the fabric of the Kazekage's ribcage. _Thank you… again_. "These are the best presents anyone's ever given me, even if I've never received much." The blonde leans up and lays a chaste kiss on Gaara's clothes, roughly where his heart would be. He peers into those pupiless eyes and can't help but smile. This is a person – and a village leader at that – who cares about him, who wants to do good things for him, and who Naruto would never dare hurt or betray because he's done so much. Somehow, Naruto felt like he was going to cry. He even felt his eyes prickle and begin to well with water.

"Heh, you got me. Sai pulled out a brush as soon as I mentioned 'artist', asked me what I wanted, and said to come back in a few days." Gaara smiled silently at the kiss, brushing some of Naruto's hair out of his face with a pale finger. Noticing the possibility of tears through their emotional ties, Gaara let his thumb roughly but lightly wipe away the one droplet that dared to fall. "You're welcome," he said. "And I hope I can give you many more reasons to say thank you." Gaara felt his eyelids flutter slightly, itching to be closed and allow a nice nap. Sleep... Sleep sounded good. He'd overworked himself in the effort to have the house done by today, and unfortunately that one-hour nap earlier did nothing to rejuvenate him. Before he could stop it, a small yawn escaped him. Snuggling closer to Naruto, the redhead rested his head Naruto's arm, wrapping his arms loosely around the blonde's waist.

"So, what's your overall reaction to my several surprises, in one-to-three words?"

"One-to-three words, huh?" Naruto murmured into fabric now warmed by his breath. "Then how's this? I. Love. You," he grinned, framing each word. It really was the only way he could express his gratitude and surprise and all the other emotions running though his system. Mostly gratitude. He's never gotten so much and such big things before, and he just wished he could make it up to Gaara somehow. Well, he had a few ideas as to how, but he kept those thoughts to himself as the redhead fell into a light slumber in his arms; and soon, he followed, feeling warm and content.

* * *

Within a month, chaos broke out. Not your usual kind of demonic chaos, nor the enemy-based kind. No, this was a different kind of chaos that included stress, panic, and other feelings too strong to contain.

"Come on, let's go, ladies! We need to make this absolutely _perfect_!" Sakura called out. She bossed around just about anyone who would listen. After all, she needed every little detail to go smoothly for her best friend's wedding.

And no, she wasn't referring to Ino. She meant Naruto. And even though it was unusual, and Gaara had to make it legal in his village, she was happy for him. Naruto finally had someone to match him… and he was about to make it permanent, which couldn't be more exciting to the pinkette. Which was why she had to make sure her boys were taken care of. They're just men; what do they know about setting up weddings? So she promised to do all the hard stuff if they promised not to let their love fade.

Naruto had laughed at that as he had put an arm around Gaara. "That's impossible, Sakura. I don't think it can ever fade away."

"Let me see those yukatas!" she demanded as she scanned her list. Her face was more relaxed than her voice; she had to be loud in order to be heard over the murmur and clank of voices and objects (such as decorations and plates). Nearly everyone who worked under the Kazekage was present, composed of mostly women. It goes to show how fond some Suna girls were of their attractive leader, demon or no demon, in love with another man or not.

Matsuri was among these women, and she was like Sakura's right-hand gal. It was because the brunette had been fond of Gaara so long that she was willing to do anything that made him happy. Amongst the crowd, Matsuri waved a hand as she approached Sakura. "I have them, Sakura-san!" she said.

"Good; bring them here." Sakura replied. She studied the lovely blue-swirled, red-flamed, and gold-laced yukata for Naruto and already could imagine how it would bring out his eyes and compliment his figure. "Amazing," she smiled. "What about Gaara's?"

Matsuri held up the white yukata with silvery accents and black scrolling designs. There were tints of red here and there to match Naruto's yukata and to compliment Gaara's hair.

Sakura felt the fabric between her fingers. It was silky, and would hang off of Gaara in all the right ways. She grinned. "This is great! Gaara will look very elegant in this. Both of them will be so handsome," she sighed contentedly. She nodded to Matsuri and thanked her before moving on to the next issue.

* * *

"Ahh! It's almost the day of the wedding," Naruto fretted to himself. He felt nervous, excited, frazzled and eager; all at the same time. He also felt sick, because he hadn't seen Gaara for about two weeks now. He was beginning to go crazy from such an emotional combination.

The 'Kage was very busy in Suna making preparations. So Naruto was stuck traveling to and from their little abode and his apartment in Konoha. He wasn't supposed to see the bride – well, other groom – until the wedding, for some reason or another. Gaara said he wanted it that way.

"It'll make the wedding all the more romantic," the redhead had stated in all seriousness, "If you missed me, and if I missed you. That way, everything will feel fresh."

He understood the logic, but Naruto wasn't happy about it. He wanted to be there, and see how everything was unfolding. But instead he had to wait until tomorrow night to leave. Gaara had told him to wait at their secret place until two days before the big event, and to leave the evening before so that he would arrive just in time to be taken care of and sent down the aisle to wait for the br– 'other groom' to join him.

But Naruto couldn't wait any longer. He ceased his pacing and headed out the door. "I can't take it anymore. I'll just go a little slower and arrive a couple hours early; that should be fine," he reasoned.

And then he left.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gaara was sitting in a simple room inside the church, looking at himself in the mirror. He felt no doubt, had no second thoughts. Gazing upon his reflection, he wondered idly if the dark eye shadow he was wearing (on top of a far thinner layer of eyeliner) looked good. His hair was almost straight, flowing nicely to the right, exposing his Ai tattoo with pride. His hair was a little lighter, more like a deep honey-red than it had been before, and longer; it was almost shoulder-length, all of it; except he'd cut it about a half an inch shorter, and it didn't seem as long since it was light and remained close to his neck instead of spreading out all over the place. He seemed a little paler, too, but that was alright; it kept up with his apparent 'image' of grace and regality. He stood slowly, and imagined himself wearing his yukata; it was different from a kimono in that it had a large ribbon around it, called an obi. The Obi for his yukata was almost an extension of the white, silver, red, and black; but it was a tad darker. That was he liked best about it; though it was suffice to say that he felt nervous about wearing a yukata, as he'd never done so before.

Gaara sighed and grinned ever-so-slightly; the couple had figured out that, yes, their mental connection could serve to bridge the gap between Suna and Konoha (or their home), albeit being a little fuzzy. Idly, he sent a few reassuring and warm thoughts Naruto's way (emotions always transmitted better than thoughts at such a distance) and sighed, glancing down at his rather casual clothing – a red t-shirt (a black long-sleeved shirt underneath it) and dark jeans. Sakura had persuaded him to wear it, saying that he should 'live a little', as only Naruto had thrown a bachelor party (which had resulted in many boys getting wasted out of their minds and an unpleasant phantom hangover for Gaara).

He waved to Sakura, and told her softly that he was tired and going to go home, and that he absolutely loved what she had done with the place, careful to flatter her (and Matsuri, who showed up again a few moments after) with similar comments, including "I'd never have been able to do this myself, and Naruto... well, he'd likely try to have a cake made out of ramen," for instance. After this brief exchange, he waved goodbye to both Sakura and Matsuri, and left in a little 'poof' of sand, which promptly swirled itself out the door, so that no one had to clean it up. How considerate of him.

Upon reaching his home, he laid on his bed, and smiled to himself again, a faint half-smile that only Naruto knew to be the equivalent of 'beaming' and a 'Naruto-Ramen-smile', both of which were very unlikely to ever grace his lips.

His eyes fluttered closed rather quickly, his previous trouble with sleeping gone even with Shukaku's presence; the nightmares no longer bothered him, and his personality was no longer ravaged by the dreams he experienced.

* * *

Grinning to himself, Naruto did his best not to leak his surprise of arriving early to Gaara through their connection. He was grateful for the warmly reassuring thoughts that were sent his way, however brief they were. He also did his best not to peek into Gaara's head to see what the church looked like. He wanted to be surprised, too; not merely the surprise-r. Was surprise-r even a word? Bah, who cares? Naruto wasn't one to think about correct grammar. What he cared about was the drumming in his chest as he raced toward Sunagakure, toward his future, and toward his lover.

His emotions were skyrocketing as he grew closer and closer, and he felt as thought he were about to burst. Naruto bit his lip and kept moving, and as the desert cruel sands beat around him, he saw the village's walls within range. He could almost hear the bustle of people in the streets.

Feeling lightheaded with both a minor case of dehydration and exhilaration, the kitsune burst into the village and got directed to the church by a few of the guards at the front gate who knew to look for him.

"We weren't expecting you quite yet, Uzumaki-san," one of them said.

"Which is why I need you to keep my arrival a secret," Naruto winked, "Because I'm not supposed to be here yet. I got overexcited."

"Ah," one of them nodded. "I see. Well, come with me; I'll show you where the church is at. Your friend Haruno-san should be there to recive you."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled a bit tiredly. He ran all the way there…

* * *

"Naruto?!" Sakura exclaimed as soon as she saw him. "What are you doing here? You're so early!"

"Shh, pipe down, Sakura-chan," he told her with a wince in his voice. "I wanted to surprise everyone."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Okay. Fine. My lips are sealed. But boy, do you really need fixing up! Come sit over here. Let's see if we can't get a bath going for you to get that sandy residue off. And then, we need to get you dressed and maybe add a little makeup –"

"Are you crazy? I don't want makeup! I'm a man, not a girl!"

"But a little eyeliner on your upper lids would really bring out –"

"No. Way. In. Hell," Naruto growled. "Just gimme my bath and clothes and help me make my hair a bit more decent, and I'm all set."

"Sure, sure," Sakura sighed. "Whatever you think is best. This is your wedding, after all."

"Trust me," Naruto smiled, "I'll be plenty sexy if you **k**eep **i**t **s**imple, **s**tupid."

She laughed. "Until the _K.I.S.S.,_ one of the oldest rules in the book. I got it."

And with that, they went to work to make the groom presentable, as challenging as that might sound.

* * *

The church was in even more of a buzz than normal. Well, that was to be expected, with the wedding taking place in a few hours. Matsuri had taken over with Gaara, and she was now helping to tug his yukata on smoothly; patting it down to remove any wrinkles, she tied on his Obi rather efficiently, using a few traces of chakra to make sure it was perfectly smooth. Then, she took out mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow (which Gaara regarded as if she was carrying a weapon) and applied as thin a layer of eyeliner around his eyes as possible, using a little mascara to bring out his rather light eyelashes. Then, adding to it with a trace of almost silvery-gray eye shadow, she smirked and pulled out lip gloss. This new object Gaara absolutely glared at her for, but grudgingly allowed her to do whatever damage she wanted. Thankfully, she wasn't completely evil- she only put some shiny nude gloss on his lips, giving them a little shine, as if they were porcelain. Truth be told, in this getup, Gaara did look quite like a doll, or perhaps a (very clearly male) geisha. Matsuri left his hair down, but straightened it and sprayed some hairspray (which Gaara thought must have been toxic gas) in it to make it 'luscious and shiny', she said (she'd already forced him to wash it in what Gaara counted to be at least ten different shampoos and conditioners, resulting in a very soft, rather attractive (if he did say so himself) hairstyle. She then took a bit of lip liner that was just a shade lighter than his Ai scar, and outlined it before blending it with her fingers, making it look more attention-grabbing and giving even it a bit of glamour. Then, as she deemed Gaara's nose was shiny, she took some foundation that matched his skin color and dusted it all over his nose, cheeks, and forehead. Sweeping his bangs back over his forehead and using a well-placed (so as to be invisible) bobby pin, Matsuri stopped them from completely covering his right eye. Then, for no reason that he could think of, she made him stand again.

"There!" She exclaimed, stepping back to observe her masterpiece with her hands on her hips. Pulling out a mirror and a camera, she snapped a digital picture before he could object, gave him the mirror, and bustled off to show Sakura and Gaara's other fangirls.

Sighing and glancing into the mirror, Gaara almost started in wonder. He looked... good. Almost like... a model. Like someone that wasn't a demon-carrier.

Smiling softly, he put the mirror down, and opened the door – only to find he had a self-appointed 'guard', one of the many women that had volunteered to help out.

"Tut-tut! You know better, Gaara-sama! You shouldn't go to see the b– er, _groom_ – just yet! It's supposed to be bad luck! Wait until tonight, when you get to run off to who-knows-where with him to, ah, _consummate_ your marriage. Besides, I'm not sure if he's even here yet."

Gaara glared at her half-heartedly as she basically told him to wait until later to have his way with the blonde, but that wasn't his intention in the first place. Closing the door and returning to his now so-called holding cell, he rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he heard her stifling a giggle.

"The things I go through for you..." he muttered, the half-smile returning, shaking his head minutely.

* * *

"Uhg! Stop fussing over me, Sakura-chan! I'm fine, _really_," Naruto insisted. He turned to face a mirror, as if to prove to her that he looked fine. He could see her frowning face behind him. He smiled. "See? Never sexier," he joked.

Sakura blew at her bangs and gave up. After a moment, she realized that he was right. Sure, he was lacking everything except a bit of basic foundation, but he looked pretty good. His long lashes made it appear as though he had a hint of eyeliner on, and his lips, when he licked them, gave a natural sheen to them that was as good as – if not better than – lip gloss. His hair had been blown dry for once, and angled slightly, so that it fell into his eyes in a styled manner and fell around his sideburns and at the nape of his neck nicely. His unruly spikes had been tamed enough to make him look softer and more mature, and yet held enough spunk to still seem _Naruto-ish._

The pinkette didn't even have to admit how damn well his yukata clung to his muscular frame, or how the obi section of it tied off just-so, to almost give Naruto hips. The manly kind, obviously, but hips nonetheless.

She began to giggle. "Okay, so you were right. You do look… um…"

"Sexy as hell?"

"Maybe not 'sexy', because that wouldn't be appropriate for a wedding; I wouldn't allow you to look 'sexy'. No, you look… extremely handsome, actually. I didn't know I could say that about you, since your dorky-ness always got in the way before," Sakura complimented as she gave Naruto a friendly hug. She patted him on the back. "Now then, are you ready to take your place at the altar?"

He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think so. No, I know so. Let's go!" he moved around her toward the door. He stopped short when he noticed something that hadn't been there a while ago. It was sitting on one of the end tables near the door. "What's that?"

"Nothing," Sakura said as she hid the picture Matsuri gave her of Gaara while the blonde had been dressing. She didn't want him to see the other groom before it was time. But she had to hint: "It's nothing you won't be seeing in a few minutes, anyway."

Cocking an eyebrow at her and thinking that it was simply a photo of the church all decked out, Naruto left the room.

Bright lights and dozens of faces met him. He came out from a door that led onto the top of the altar, near the justice of the peace who would join the blonde to his soul mate in a different way then they were joined already; and by 'a different way', he meant 'legally bound'.

Staring across the church in the sandy village opposite his own, Naruto took a step forward and took his place at the left of the elder with the tome on marriages in his hand. "Are you joyous, lad?" the man asked.

Naruto chuckled. "I'm the happiest I've ever been," he said. But his hands were shaking.

* * *

Gaara exhaled shakily as Temari and Kankuro argued over who'd take him down the aisle, and he rolled his eyes.  
"I'll go down by myself," he said.

Temari looked at him oddly, and Kankuro raised an eyebrow, both clearly wanting him to explain.

"I'm not exactly a bride up for show. The only reason I'll be walking down that damn aisle will be because they want me to, being the Kazekage and all. Plus, apparently I look more feminine."

"But it's tradition for a fath-" Kankuro paused in the middle of the word before continuing. "-er to take the girl down the aisle, showing that he's giving her away and giving them his blessings! Someone has to walk with you, Gaara."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Fine. Both of you can, then. I don't care."

Moments later, after they had decided and Temari had fussed over how gorgeous Gaara was, she left and sat in one of the church pews, leaving Gaara and his brother by the large, brown oak doors. Music started playing, and Gaara almost jumped at it; he felt a hand squeeze his reassuringly before letting go, and he cracked a small, solemn smile.

Then he stepped through the heavy doors that his brother opened for him, and walked down at a relatively normal pace, only slightly slower than a walk; his brother accompanied him and then stepped off to the side.

Gaara smiled, relieved, as he gazed into Naruto's eyes, giving him a discrete once-over before turning his attention to the priest.

"Thank you again," He whispered to the priest; not very many would be willing to marry two men.

As the priest opened his mouth to speak, Gaara gazed at Naruto once more, letting the words wash over him as if in a haze.

* * *

"Well, I'd say that went smoothly," Naruto cooed with a shit-eating grin on his face, one that would put the Cheshire cat to shame. He had carried Gaara all the way to their home after the redhead had shunshinned them into the forest surrounding it.

"It was smooth if you don't count the vows you stuttered over quite epically," Gaara retorted with a roll of his eyes, although he was secretly smiling along with his new husband.

"I mean, you sounded like Hinata!"

Naruto shrugged as he set Gaara down next to the front door. He swung it wide open and dragged the redhead inside. "You weren't so smooth, either, if you count the slightly-too-passionate-for-the-public-eye kind of kiss you gave me at the end," the blonde teased. He yanked Gaara into their bedroom and pinned him to the bed with one hand. The other fiddled with the obi of the Kazekage's yukata as if he was about to take it off, but he didn't just yet. "Of 'course, I realize you couldn't help yourself, but that's no excuse to scar the audience."

"They weren't scarred," Gaara protested. He looped one arm around Naruto's neck, his fingers weaving themselves into the golden locks just above it. "I daresay it made them jealous, if not a bit uncomfortable in their pants."

"Hmm, I'll go there with you," Naruto chuckles softly. "Because I know any kiss we share is usually erotic enough to get anybody going." He leaned down and placed a kiss on Gaara's finger, where a ring now shone (engraved with a nice inscription good enough to rival Gaara's). He moved to kiss Gaara's face, but he paused. "All that makeup is going to get sweaty and rub off, I hope you know. And it'll be nasty."

"Our lower regions are about to get a lot nastier because of a different substance, and you're worried about the light amount of makeup on my face?" Gaara said with a quizzical expression.

"Point taken," Naruto sweatdropped. It was then that he rolled them over and stared up at Gaara. He smiled in a manner that spoke for him, and yet he said the smile's meaning anyway by telling the other: "Did you ever think we would get this far, Gaara? When you met me, and even after that, did you ever see us getting married or anything crazy like that?"

The redhead kissed the kitsune's collar bone. He was waiting for the blonde to speak his own opinion to the questions first.

"…I didn't, you know. I honestly hadn't seen any of this coming."

"But?"

"But… I'm glad. So glad that I could die right now and be content with the way I lived my life."

"Don't talk about dying, Naruto," Gaara threatened. The blonde knew how touchy of a subject that could be.

Naruto shook his head as he slipped a hand into the side of Gaara's parted yukata and began massaging his narrow back. "Sorry, I won't. I'm just saying… it's one of those phrases that make a point, y'know?" He winked.

"I didn't see it coming either," Gaara admitted, silently agreeing that yes, the phrase had hit home, quite solidly.

"But I felt it, the first time I met you. As if you were more important that I thought you were back then."

Naruto nodded, understanding what he meant, before grinning lewdly. "Now then, where were we? Oh yeah, I was about to take off that obi of yours…"

With the clasping of hands and the sensual merge of one body to another, the two celebrated having completed the final step there was to binding them to one another for all eternity. It meant one thing to be a couple, another to be lovers, and yet another to be soul mates. It meant something else entirely to be spouses. And for one matching set of people to be all four… it meant more than the human tongue could ever speak or for the human hand to ever jot down.

And so it came to be that the Kazekage and Hokage, through thick and thin, the good and the bad, sickness and health, distance with longing and togetherness with infatuation…

They lived _happily_ ever after_._

Or, at least, as happy as any two people can be.

.THE END.

* * *

**Arianna: REVIEW PLEASE, if there are still peole out there who read this RP fanfic! XD **

**we love you~ #hearts#**

**Rianne: I feel a little sad now that it's over, hmm? But I like the ending. I mean, who doesn't like a wedding that gives you the whole WAFF moment thing? (WAFF: Warm And Fluffy Feeling). It was an amazing thing working on this with Ari, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did (even if it tired us out a little). So: I want to hand out a few awards of my own for once (almost like Ari did with **Detrimental Benefits**.) **

**The Awards of Review and Length:** Definitely **The Devastating Sisters**. Berry and Kitsune, you guys reviewed every chapter (even chapter one was in the second chapter review, too, though we updated so quick~) :3 You gave such encouraging (and so MUCH) feedback that I wanted to squeal, and Ari was amazed because you guys are the best peeps out there and if you reviewed, it practically makes us famous. x3 So thanks for being such awesome reviewers, and I hope you enjoyed the ride. :3

**The Award of Curiosity: **Definitely goes to **X-Sugared Kiss-X.** You were interested in what was going on, and you gave awesome feedback. You didn't review much lately, though, or else I'd nominate you for Review, too; but hey, you're awesome. :3 Be proud that you finished our ultra-long fanfic! Have a wonderful time, hun.

**The Award of Nonsense:** **YamiTenshi (Arianna must cut in to say: I LOVE YOU, GIRL!) **gets this one, no doubt about it. Your review made me laugh so hard I cried. And I was coughing too, that didn't help. ^_^ Live on, and keep being random-- insanity only spices life up. So keep living free, and enjoy yourself. :3

**The Award of Epic Fail Concerning Length: -siarafaerie-101-miss, xxxxxBeginningxxxxx, carmade, and Knyghtshade,** you guys definitely get this one. You only posted two or three lines; but even so, it made me wanna hug you all, 'cause it's feedback, and letting us know you liked it. So, enjoy yourselves; and be proud that you got an award. ;3

**The Award of Pervertedness: **x3 **Mortuus Moenia Manus Manus, demonic blood shed666,** **The Devastating Sisters**, you guys definitely get this award. You were so enthusiastic about the smut that it made us laugh (or at least roll our eyes and chuckle). Keep on rocking, and I hope you find more smut that appeals to you, you pervs. x3

**Arianna: Especially demonic blood! Dude, your reviews rock. I, like, fo shiz love your reviews. SOOO amusing! XD **

**Rianne again: Those are the only awards I have; but if you all review again, you might get more~! **

**I hope you have a wonderful day and week and year and so on! Keep living life to its fullest.**

**Write (and read) on, and let your words flow freely.**

**Love, Rianne**


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